Civic-Minded Students, Instructor Again Take Part in 'Habitat' Build

While many of their classmates were relaxing or preparing for another semester, a group of students from the Pennsylvania College of Technology spent part of their winter break building houses with Habitat for Humanity near New York City.

The students represented Penn College SMAC (Students Making a Contribution), a volunteer service organization that engages in a number of outreach efforts throughout the year. This past year alone, SMAC sponsored a litter cleanup along the RiverWalk near Williamsport, visited nursing home residents and assisted with the Lycoming County Out of the Darkness walk for suicide prevention and awareness.

For the second straight year, the group traveled to New Rochelle, N.Y., from Jan. 2-7 to take part in Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge program. Collegiate Challenge offers college students across the country opportunities to assist with Habitat-sponsored construction projects throughout the United States and abroad.

The delegation from Penn College was hosted by Habitat for Humanity of Westchester County, one of the most active Habitat affiliates in the United States with nearly a dozen planned or active builds spread across six neighboring communities in New York's northern suburbs. Many of those towns have a severe shortage of quality, affordable housing for working families.

Habitat for Humanity of Westchester County has also joined forces with many other Habitat affiliates to assist with reconstruction efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquakes, sponsoring several trips to date with another one planned for this spring.

Taking part in the trek were Adam C. Swan, Lititz, information technology: security specialist concentration; Rebecca R. Miller, Williamsport, graphic communications management; Patricia A. Hintz, Muncy, applied human services; Gregory B. Neal, Port Matilda, emergency medical services; and Ashley M. Stuck, Lewistown, applied human services.

Swan and Rebecca Miller, participants in the inaugural trip,had such a positive experience last year that they wanted to return. Accompanying the group was Joe S. Miller, manager of audio/visual services and instructor of sociology for the college.

"It's always nice to return the good fortune that I've had to others," said Swan, SMAC president. "As people, we're quite blessed."

The group worked on a green building construction on Orchard Street in Yonkers, N.Y. The house is a "near-zero energy" model, meaning that the power generated from the solar panels on the structure's roof combined with the ultra-energy-efficient construction results in very little net electrical consumption over a typical year.

Interior walls of the structure are lined with soundproofing insulation made from recycled denim jeans. National retail chains sponsor "used jean drives" throughout the year, providing donors with discount coupons toward the purchase of new denim wear. The jeans then are shipped to factories in the United States and remanufactured into this dense, toxin-free material.

Water-saving shower heads and toilets are among many other eco-friendly materials that were incorporated into the home's design.

Some members of the Penn College team also built porch frames on a pair of duplexes being constructed at another Habitat project in Yonkers. The homes at that site were manufactured using prefabricated concrete modules, allowing the shell of both two-story structures to be erected in a single day. That site is nearing completion, with occupancy expected to commence by midyear.