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Collegians work on Habitat home
By Shawn Strannigan

Students from Stanford came to Sisters to work on the next Habitat for Humanity home.

Sisters' latest Habitat for Humanity home is going up at a fast pace -- thanks in part to some help from California.

A group of Stanford University students headed north over spring break to take part in a "Collegiate Challenge" effort for the charitable organization.

"This group of students from Stanford is coming in even harder than previous groups," commented construction supervisor, Kristin Gibeau. "They set goals for each day, and don't leave
the site until the goals are accomplished."

Like a previous group of student builders from Sitka, Alaska, some of the Stanford students have previous construction experience, while others picked up a hammer for the first time on this trip.

Brent Jacobsen, a senior at Stanford University, said that this is his first time working with Habitat.

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"I've always been interested in Habitat," said Jacobsen. "but the timing didn't work out until now. This is also my first visit to Sisters -- I am very impressed with the community. Every night, some family has had us over for the evening meal. Free food!"

The group of 10 males and two females have been staying at Dr. May Fan's house.

Fan, a Stanford graduate herself, offered her house to the students even though she was out of town at the time.

Luke Morton, a junior at Stanford, worked with Habitat previously in Charleston, South Carolina.

"It's a lot different here," said Morton. "In Charleston, it was basically just a group of volunteers working on our own.

"Here in Sisters," he explained, "we have experienced people from the community working alongside us, training us as we go. The work goes much faster here.

"This has also been great hands-on experience for me," continued Morton. "My major is in environmental science and it's been awesome seeing the things I'm learning about being put into practice."

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Senior Scott Mooney had done day jobs with Habitat before, but this was his first big project.

"This has been a great experience -- I've learned a lot and met a lot of interesting people. I've really enjoyed sitting around just talking with the families who've had us over for dinner," said Mooney.

Working side by side with the student volunteers are the homeowners along with their friends and families.

Chris Brock, nephew of homeowner Jennifer Knowles, is excited about the construction skills he's learned as he's helped the project along.

"I just started working on the house over spring break," explained the middle school student. "So far, I learned how to use lots of power tools, like the Skil saw and the chop saw."

"It's going well," said Gibeau, who expects the duplex being built on the corner of Washington and Cedar streets to be competed this June. "It still amazes me that these students take their whole spring break to come here and help."

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Sisters Habitat for Humanity was established in March of 1991, although the organization itself was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller.

Since 1991, Sisters Habitat has completed 14 houses, with the average cost per house running around $60,000 (including price of property).

Funds for building come from donations and proceeds from the Sisters Habitat Thrift store (which was opened in 1993). Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 100,000 homes in more than 60 countries, with 30,000 homes being built in the U.S. For more information about Habitat for Humanity or to help with the current project, call: 549-1133.

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