Students volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

There are a dozen regular volunteers, retired men who live in Sisters, who have built Habitat for Humanity homes in Sisters.

"I like to work with the guys and help those that need homes. It's a good organization," said retired business owner George Sproat, who has volunteered for 14 years.

Bob Harris of Sisters has volunteered for over 10 years.

"It seemed like a nice thing to do," he said. "I have helped build at least 25 houses. For a long time I used my own spray outfit to paint the buildings, until HFH bought their own."

Restaurants, churches and individuals all over town supply food for the workers. Every month a different local church brings lunches to the work site on Wednesdays. Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration provided lunches for the Hammond Place project volunteers in March and also provided the location for potlucks for each of the college groups who volunteered.

All of the community's churches have contributed to the volunteer program at some point in time.

Several students have supported Habitat's current building project at Hammond Place on East Cascade Avenue during their spring break. Sisters High School students from the Key Club, as well as Sisters Community Church's Hangar youth group (the group gathers at a structure known as the Hangar off McKinney Butte Drive), have all pitched in hammering nails, stacking wood, doing clean up, and building team spirit.

Daniel Keels, youth pastor for Sisters Community Church, was on-site volunteering and heading up the Hangar group.

"Every year we spend our summers serving in Los Angeles on skid row. This year we asked Nate Uttley to find places to volunteer for spring break and he suggested Habitat. Habitat is a great organization," he said.

COCC freshman and Sisters resident Natani Chick joined the Hangar students volunteering on the Hammond Place building site. Chick expressed why she thought it was important to volunteer during her spring break.

"I knew some of the Hangar group, and I thought I should do something valuable with my time," Chick said.

Chick already has some experience in house building.

"My parents built their own house, and I helped out with that."

Students from the University of Minnesota helped on-site for a week, as did students from North Idaho College (NIC), a community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Sheyne Possman of North Idaho College volunteered last year.

"I did the trip last year to Bend for Habitat and enjoyed it," Possman said. "I like volunteering, and it's better than doing nothing during break."

Dean Bennett, Director of Student Activities at NIC, commented, "The kids get an adventure, learn team-building, and working with other students. It builds character."

Students are often inspired by the example of their parents' service to the community.

Jenny Estep, of NIC, is following in her mother's footsteps.

"My mother took a carpentry program through NIC where you learn to build your own house," Estep said. "My family is into service, and I have wanted to build a house for Habitat ever since I heard about them."

Estep hopes to travel to other countries and volunteer as a nurse.