Habitat An Options this Fall

BY BRITTANY DeVRIES

Seniors Carthon Davis, III and Peter Bugenhagen traveled to Albany, Ga. for Alternative Spring Break last year with the University of Mary Washington’s branch of Habitat for Humanity.

They enjoyed their time so much they were chosen to lead this year’s Fall break trip.

“We had a blast last year,” Davis said of the Georgia trip.

Bugenhagen, after learning about Habitat from a friend, volunteered for Spring break for the past two years. He passed the word on to Davis in time for the trip to Albany.

Volunteers will travel to Franktown, planned from Friday, Oct. 10 until Tuesday, Oct. 14, where Habitat will have two houses under construction. The group, advised by education department  professor Tom Fallace, will stay at the Franktown United Methodist Church.
Though it is relatively inexpensive in relation to the Spring break trip, this event costs about $100 for each student.

Davis said he hoped to do some fundraising for the group.
“We are planning to fundraise starting this weekend to help alleviate the cost.”

Junior Stephanie Breijo said there would be a bake sale on campus this Saturday for Family Weekend.

Breijo, who signed up for the 2008 Alternative Fall Break, is excited for the upcoming trip.

“I’ve never been a part of Alternative Fall or Spring Break but I participated in similar opportunities in high school,” Breijo said.
Having grown up out-of-state, she said she was looking forward to seeing another part of Virginia.

“I can’t wait to get back into humanitarian work, which I’ve been on hiatus for about three years,” Breijo said.

Sophomore Kaley Huston attended a short meeting with Davis and Bugenhagen to gather information on the October trip.

“It’s a good experience,” Huston said, who previously volunteered for Habitat here in Fredericksburg. “I’m a historic preservation major, so this type of hands-on work is really helpful.”

UMW’s Habitat for Humanity Alternative Break groups work directly with Habitat’s core office, so the division was automatically entered into the Collegiate Challenge (CC). The CC is what backs Alternative Breaks and encourages youth groups, high schools, and colleges to become affiliated with Habitat

“The purpose of Collegiate Challenge is really to get people out there,” Bugenhagen said.

Davis agreed that the Challenge was a great opportunity.
“It gives students other options, other ways to spend their break,” Davis said.

Breijo said that Habitat’s Alternative Break program is a better way to spend Fall break.

“It’s not just visiting people, but helping people,” she said.

The group still has a couple more slots to fill, and is looking for volunteers interested in becoming school van-certified. If interested, contact Carthon Davis by e-mail at cdavis3@umw.edu.