Each month staff members of Scripps College Residential Life participate in a development workshops or projects. In October, the group helped the Claremont Habitat for Humanity project, building six single-family homes in six weeks.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit housing organization working globally to eliminate substandard housing and homelessness. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds modest, well-built houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Ellen Browning Hall resident advisor Paige Eunji Chung ’07 said “It was a powerful
experience because the owners of the homes were building with us.” Partner families are selected based on their level of need, willingness to commit to helping with construction of the home, and their ability to repay the no-interest loan.
On Sunday, October 9, 13 resident advisors and three resident hall directors woke up at dawn to join other volunteers at First Street and Claremont Boulevard to help transform the once vacant plot of land on the city’s boundary into a cluster of two-story homes.
The Claremont Habitat volunteers have labored seven days a week starting at eight in the morning, in order to have the homes ready for the six local families by Thanksgiving. This project is the largest ever undertaken by the Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity chapter, which usually builds two homes in a year.
According to Carol McClung, volunteer coordinator at the chapter, 30 to 40 people volunteer their time on any given day of the week to build the homes. The land was donated by a partnership of local churches and the City of Claremont, and several local businesses offered their services pro bono to design the landscape and architecture plans. Serena Cline, hall director and student development coordinator said, “It was nice to see Habitat is getting the help they need.”
To learn more about the Claremont project, call the Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity at (909) 596-7098 or visit their website (click here).
To volunteer in your local area, visit Habitat for Humanity International’s website (click here).