College students help Sisters Habitat

Spring break is in the air — at the University of Portland anyway — and four keen students and a staff member trekked over the Cascades to toil for a week on the latest Habitat for Humanity homes.

The crew, taking part in Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge, arrived in Sisters on Sunday, March 12. First port of call was the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, where a potluck spread and a group of volunteers greeted the young women.

Bob Harris, Sisters Habitat for Humanity board president and foreman of the framing crew, was delighted to see the group. His plans for the week included installing under-floor insulation in the homes, putting down sub-flooring and possibly framing the lower walls of the two-story structures.

In his experience, all-women crews work harder and with greater enthusiasm than coed crews.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity Executive Director, Sharlene Weed, said, “We’re so excited to have these folks from Collegiate Challenge here.”

The townhomes are located at 125 and 129 Locust Lane, near Sisters Elementary School. Homeowners Liz Bantz and Victor and Alma Florian will work alongside the Collegiate Challenge students.

Michelle Rogers works in the office of Volunteer Services at the University of Portland, organizing alternative spring break activities. When a student approached her about working with Habitat for Humanity, Rogers did the paperwork to get registered with Collegiate Challenge and got the word out on campus.

Valerie Wen, a junior from the Bay Area; Jeannie Nguyen, a sophomore from Portland; Janet McElligott, a sophomore from Condon; and Megan Bell, a sophomore from Los Angeles, packed their woolly hats and long johns in preparation for whatever changeable spring weather is in store in Sisters. The women will be lodged at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

Megan, who has worked on a Habitat project in Portland, said, “I’m looking forward to working alongside the community, working for a common goal.”

Michelle added, “It’ll be a great learning experience, doing construction work.”

According to the Habitat for Humanity Web site, Collegiate Challenge began in 1989 and has grown into one of the largest year-round alternative break programs in the United States. It offers trips for five or more students, both high school and college, to work for a week on a project in any one of 250 Habitat affiliates in the United States.