Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Trips Announced

By Renee Rasmussen 

Catholic University’s Habitat for Humanity chapter has announced the locations of the spring break trips for 2020 after a much anticipated wait. This year the organization will take its members to Avon, Colorado; San Diego, California; Athens, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Bryan, Texas. 

“We picked those locations because each of these locations registered that they need more help to finish their houses so we wanted to be able to meet the needs of these communities,” said Natalie Deroche, President of Catholic’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, when asked the importance of these locations. 

These spring break trips are a vital part of Habitat for Humanity. As an organization focused on helping families build and improve places to call home, the spring break trips are an embodiment of that mission. 

Habitat for Humanity works with families using a sustainable model. When building the houses, students will get to work alongside the families who will be receiving the Habitat homes. Deroche said this makes it a “a very unique and impactful experience because you get to hear their story and why they are working so hard to get their house.” Also, Habitat runs on a “hand up, not a handout” model meaning while families work on building their house, they are required to go to classes about managing finances and are then eligible to buy the houses from Habitat at a lower rate.

“These trips are really special. They combine service, community, and reflection,” said Deroche. During spring break, students will be able to work on building houses for the families, as well as learning about the communities they are helping.

“We explore the city and immerse ourselves in that community by doing fun activities such as sightseeing, going to national parks and exploring the areas, “Deroche said. “It’s always cool to see the community in which we get to serve.”  

Deroche stressed how empowering Habitat for Humanity is. 

“I had never used a saw before working on a Habitat house, but everyone was very encouraging of me and now I feel really confident using tools,” she explained. 

“This is a sustainable model because it empowers families by giving them the skills to succeed,” Deroche said. 

Through these trips, students will also be able to integrate what they learn on the worksite in their own life or in their faith life. These trips are based on community, represented by how every night the Habitat groups come together to have a reflection on how these trips can be seen in the bigger picture. 

“These trips are really great ways to learn to be an advocate for safe and affordable housing, serve through working on houses, for example, painting, roofing and putting in a floor and making new CUA friends that become like family!” Deroche said.  

In order to get priority selection for the spring break site, Catholic University’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity utilizes sweat equity hours. These hours are the accumulation of the service the individual has done in the past year. The more hours the individual has the higher priority they will get. Those with 16 hours or more can register on November 6th. Registration opens for those with more than 8 hours on November 7th, and applications open for everyone else November 8th. 

Along with the spring break trips, Habitat for Humanity is also hosting a summer trip to Peru. This will be the second year Catholic will be sending students to Peru. Habitat for Humanity on campus also has a day or weekend build on a worksite almost every weekend, as well as multiple advocacy events throughout the year.