LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - This week, Lafayette Habitat for Humanity began hosting more than 100 college student volunteers who will be spending their spring break building homes with families in need of affordable housing.
The volunteers are participants in Habitat’s annual Collegiate Challenge program, which provides college students the chance to work for a week on a construction site and delve more deeply into housing issues in the communities where they serve.
KLFY-TV reports (https://bit.ly/1bLLZPp) participants raise funds to pay for their travel expenses and make a contribution to their host affiliate to cover the costs of their accommodations. Schools partnering with Lafayette Habitat for Humanity this year include Columbia University, the Ohio State University, Minnesota Concordia College, Rice University, DeSales University, St. Louis University, Connecticut Trinity College and Illinois North Central College.
While in Lafayette, the students will be working on several homes currently under construction in the city’s McComb/Veazey neighborhood as part of Lafayette Habitat’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
Organizers said while the students are working, a number of local restaurants and individuals are donating lunches to give the visitors a “true taste of Cajun hospitality.”
Joelle Boudreaux, volunteer services director at Lafayette Habitat, said whenever the program occurs, it’s one of their most productive times.
“These students could be spending a week at the beach, but instead are investing their time to make a direct impact in the lives of others through community service,” she said.
“We have several repeat groups from past years who wanted to come back and work with us again, and I think that has a lot to do with the great experiences they’ve had in Lafayette, both on and off the construction site.”
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Information from: KLFY-TV, https://klfy.com
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