When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005, thousands of people flocked to Louisiana to help rebuild the city. Two years later, organizations like Syracuse University’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity are still making the trip to help.

‘Students are still entranced by Katrina,’ said Alec Saslow, the junior public relations director for the SU chapter.

Habitat for Humanity has become one of the more popular student organizations at SU with the addition of winter and spring break trips, a deeply involved executive board and a recent boom in interest.

Habitat has been a fixture on campus for years, but SU Habitat president Brian Spendley has been working to make it more prominent and hands-on.

‘We started from scratch this year,’ Spendley said.

Habitat expanded its executive board to 14 members with more than 500 students on the e-mail list serve this semester.

Spendley has also pushed to work more closely with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and graduate students, in hopes of bringing the entire SU community together.

‘One of the biggest challenges is to give everyone the opportunity to participate,’ Saslow said.

The program’s flexibility and reputation of enjoyable community service are just some of the qualities that draw students to Habitat, Saslow said.

‘You’re doing something good with a hands-on approach, side by side with families and community members,’ said Sara Covino, an SU junior and coordinator of Habitat for the holiday trips. These qualities, paired with the social benefits, make Habitat appealing to many students.

Most participants agree that friendships made through Habitat are anything but superficial, and they’re lasting.

‘The bonds you form are just incredible,’ Saslow said. ‘These relationships can be just as important as the work you do.’

‘My best friends are from Habitat trips,’ Covino said.

Winter and spring break trips offer students a way to make their breaks a rewarding, balanced service experience.

‘The appeal is it’s an inexpensive way to have fun and bond,’ Covino said. ‘You get all that, then you do the service.’

These holiday trips are made more accessible with support from SU’s Student Association. SA covers the costs incurred by the hosts at work sites as well as application fees.

Each trip group is responsible for additional fundraising, and students must pay their individual fees, which cover rental cars, gas, food and other necessities.

Students work on the house for four days and get a day off in the middle of the week.

With warm destinations, such as Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee, the trips don’t seem like chores. ‘In the past, we’ve gone to the beach or done touristy things on our day off,’ Covino said.

‘If you do a trip early enough, you’ll still have time to experience a typical college spring break,’ said junior Kyle Kwiatkowski. ‘Doing one of these trips is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’

When Kwiatkowski went on a spring break trip to Marybell, Tenn., last semester, his expectations were exceeded.

‘It was a lot more fun than I expected,’ Kwiatkowski said. ‘People came back from that trip really enthusiastic about Habitat.’

Kwiatkowski said his leadership position on the trip to Marybell helped him to better understand the effort put in by each volunteer.

‘After seeing how much goes into one trip, it’s really impressive how much Habitat is doing this year,’ Kwiatkowski said.

Habitat’s efforts for this school year include eight spring break trips and newly added winter break trips.

The winter break trip to New Orleans adds a new element to SU’s Habitat experience. Repairing buildings will be a first, as past trips have only built houses from the ground up.

Ever expanding, SU’s Habitat for Humanity chapter plans to add international trips as an option in the near future.

But SU Habitat members have not forgotten about their home college’s city. Currently, Habitat is in the process of raising $60,000 to build for a family in Syracuse.

‘Our goal is to get this house in the ground starting next fall,’ said Habitat president Spendley.

The main fundraising event for this project, the Shack-A-Thon, is scheduled for April 2008. Student volunteers will build shacks on the Quad and live in them for three days. The Shack-A-Thon will serve as a major fundraising effort for the local project as well as an advocacy and education event on campus.

‘The Shack-A-Thon will help teach SU students about the need for low-income housing and fighting poverty,’ Covino said.

With its various projects, both near and far, Habitat for Humanity serves as an organization that blends service and rewarding social benefits.

‘Habitat is one of the most unique opportunities to take as an undergrad,’ Spendley said. ‘It really impacts you.’

Published on November 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm