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Habitat for Humanity

A Service-Filled Spring Break

Students travel to New Mexico to help others

This spring break, a group of Carthage students dedicated their week off to helping others. Sixteen members of Carthage's Habitat for Humanity student organization participated in Collegiate Challenge, an alternative break program through the national Habitat for Humanity organization. The Carthage group traveled to Taos, New Mexico, to build an adobe home for a low-income family. 

Carthage's Habitat for Humanity organization regularly participates in Collegiate Challenge. In the past, the group has spent spring break building houses in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

"It's so rewarding to give back and it's a ton of fun to travel with your friends across the country."

"We take part in the Spring Break Collegiate Challenge because it's so rewarding to give back and it's a ton of fun to travel with your friends across the country," said Tess Beltran, '12, of St. Charles, Ill. "We are excited to build an adobe home. It's something new that none of us has ever really experienced before."

In Taos, the students stayed at a church and worked for one week. Chapter president Bridget Holck, '11, from McHenry, Ill., said the eight-hour days were busy, but rewarding.

"We usually get up at about 7 a.m. and head off to the work site to start working on the site at 8 a.m.," Bridget says. "From painting, to putting up siding, to shingling the roof, we stay busy for the next several hours until we break for lunch. Over a casual bag lunch, we hang out with the other volunteers at the work site before going back to work until about 4 or 5 in the evening."

"At this point we're exhausted, so we mostly just eat some dinner and hang out where we're staying," she continued. "We might play games, do some kind of group activity, or go into town for a movie or some ice cream. We're utterly exhausted by the end of the day and are in bed by 9 or 10 p.m. every night."

Bridget said she has learned a lot through her time with Habitat for Humanity, including the value of volunteer work. "Working with Habitat I've learned that individuals truly can make a difference and that all that volunteers do is rewarded by knowing that you're helping good people make a better life for themselves."

Geography professor Julio Rivera is the group's new advisor. A long-time supporter of Habitat for Humanity, he jumped at the chance to be the group's advisor and was excited to travel with the students for the first time.

"Working with Habitat I've learned that individuals truly can make a difference."

"First, Habitat represents the best of what volunteerism and community development can be," Prof. Rivera said. "Second, those things sit at the intersection of my personal and professional interests as a geographer. Finally, I like working with students in volunteer settings."

Locally, the Carthage chapter of Habitat for Humanity works with the Racine affiliate, volunteering a few times a month in the Kenosha/Racine area. The group's 30 active members meet weekly. All students are welcome to join the organization; no building experience is necessary.

"The best part about being a part of Habitat is meeting a lot of great people who share my enthusiasm for helping people," Bridget said. "From Carthage students, to volunteers with the Racine Habitat, to the volunteers at our spring break locations, it is amazing to see all these great people working together to bring affordable housing to underprivileged families."


Photographs courtesy of Tess Beltran, '12 and Bridget Holck, '11
Story by Elizabeth Reinhardt, '12