Troy, N.Y.—About a dozen community service-minded students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are skipping a trip to the beach or the ski slopes and instead spending the upcoming spring break swinging hammers and pouring cement at a Habitat for Humanity project in John's Island, S.C.

Members of Rensselaer's chapter of the Habitat for Humanity International organization are participating in the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge. From March 7 to March 13, the group will work alongside other volunteers from around the country and the future homeowners themselves to construct houses on John's Island, which is just outside of Charleston, S.C.

"We are really proud that these students are choosing to spend their time off from class doing good for others," said Beth Carlile, assistant coordinator of student activities programs on campus and the adviser to Rensselaer's Habitat chapter. "Not only will the students be helping to build new homes, but new lives and hope. It's a great opportunity for them in terms of personal growth and life experience."

More than 10,500 students from more than 700 colleges, universities, and high schools will work at more than 200 sites nationwide for Collegiate Challenge: Spring Break 2004. The program is part of the Collegiate Challenge, a year-round program coordinated through the Collegiate Challenge Team at Habitat for Humanity in Americus, Ga. Collectively, these students have pledged more than $1 million for Habitat for Humanity.

While the Rensselaer Student Union and the Rensselaer Habitat for Humanity chapter are helping to defray some of the travel costs, the volunteers are paying for a portion of the trip themselves.

The Rensselaer Habitat for Humanity Chapter has several local projects in the works, most notably the construction of a home at 11th and Jacob streets in Troy near Rensselaer's campus. The students fund their work in part through the "Quilt Project." Participants can purchase eight-by-eight-inch cloth squares for $100 from the already assembled quilt, which is on display in the Rensselaer Student Union. The name of the sponsor is then added to the quilt. Once the chapter raises $10,000, Habitat for Humanity International will match it. It costs about $50,000 to build a Habitat for Humanity home.

For more information on the Rensselaer chapter of Habitat for Humanity, go to http://habitat.union.rpi.edu.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A