That’s a wrap! A Note from Brian

After 15 years of chaperoning an alternative spring break trip with our campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, it never ceases to amaze me at the impact this trip has on our students. This year, 19 students and 4 alumni joined me on a voyage to Columbia/Franklin, TN to support the important work of Habitat for Humanity. For those unfamiliar with Habitat, it’s an organization committed to building simple, decent, affordable housing for families that would never be able to experience homeownership without the support that HFH offers.

What made this year’s trip even more special is that we worked hand-in-hand with alumnus Bree DeMoss, who actually works full-time for the Williamson-Maury affiliate in Tennessee. Bree worked with us to make this year’s trip a reality. She helped find a church where we could sleep and shower. She helped find donors to feed us throughout the week. And she and her co-worker Emily even slept on the church floor for the entire week while we visited.

We really do appreciate all of the contributions that so many of you gave to make the trip possible. Our students each pay $150 out of pocket to attend the trip, but without support from Student Government, family, friends, faculty, and staff, our students would easily be asked to pay $400-$500/each to make the trip a reality. The cost of a rental van alone for a week is $1,000. Every little bit does help. Your support makes this experience a reality for so many people.

On behalf of us all, thanks again! We are already anxiously thinking about next year when we hope to participate in our 18th annual Spring Break trip with Habitat for Humanity.

NOTE: Last week, our group successfully completed our service trip thanks to the generous support of our donors. A few of our members wrote blogs during the week, and we will share those this week. Next up is Breanna Tomsey.

Hey! My name is Breanna Tomsey and I am a junior public policy major. I attended this year’s Habitat trip because I heard about the 2022 trip. I had wanted to attend last year’s trip but was unable to, so I specifically made sure to not have plans during my spring break this year so I could attend the trip. I can say that this trip has been amazing so far. Seeing everyone working together with smiles on their faces every day makes for a great work environment. 

Today was the second workday. We finished baseboard trim in the two houses that we’ve been working on and then worked on installing kitchen cabinets. We also caulked the outside of the houses to help prevent future leaks. 

I’m very thankful to be able to experience this opportunity and it fills my heart to know that my school is working to help families in need. This type of work is fulfilling to me because I know that a single mom of two will really appreciate her new home once it is finished. It feels amazing to be able to help in such a large way. Thank you to everyone who donated to make this trip possible, we couldn’t have made a difference without you. 

NOTE: Last week, our group successfully completed our service trip thanks to the generous support of our donors. A few of our members wrote blogs during the week, and we will share those this week. First up is John Tomasic.

Hi, my name is John. This is my second consecutive trip with Habitat for Humanity. I’m a junior health care management major with a minor in math.

At noon on Saturday, we left Pitt-Greensburg to begin our journey to Nashville, Tennessee. We made multiple stops along the way, including meals at Raising Canes and the Cookout, which were both very good considering that we do not have either of them in our region of Pennsylvania. After a long nine hours, we finally made it to the hotel in Kentucky. Everyone was exhausted from the ride. I, on the other hand, was not because I slept for a majority of the ride. 

We all went to our hotel rooms and went to bed Saturday night. On Sunday, we woke up and headed straight for the Nashville Zoo. My favorite animal that we got to see was the kangaroo, mainly because you could actually walk through the exhibit and pet them if they came up to you. When we walked through the gibbon monkey exhibit, the monkeys were swinging at the top of the trees, which our group thought was really cool. 

After the zoo, we went to downtown Nashville to eat at Martins Bar-B-Que Joint and enjoy the city. At this point, we had the opportunity to split up and enjoy the city freely for a few hours. Many of us ended up buying cowboy hats to commemorate this trip. Others enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city by the beautiful river that ran under the bridge.

To end the night, we all went to Noodles and Co. and checked into our hotel in Franklin, TN. We got up early Monday morning to head to our work site in Columbia, TN – about 40 minutes away. At the worksite, we were introduced to the volunteer coordinator Lexi along with the construction leaders Dustin and Zack. We were split into two groups to work on two different neighboring houses. 

Under the supervision of Zack, our group began working on the framing and trimming of the interior windows. This consisted of precise measurements, perfect cuts with a miter saw, and using the nail gun to secure them into place. Upon finishing the windows, we then started to work on the baseboards of the entire inside of the home. It was a productive day.

At the end of the day, we came back to the church to a nice meal supplied by the host affiliate and some generous donors from the community. At this point, we all hit the showers and played card games before heading to bed. 

Thank you so much for your support of our trip! It means a lot to us as we prepare to make our way to Franklin, TN where we will be helping a local Habitat for Humanity affiliate work on a home. It’s because of your generosity that we can go on this trip every year. On behalf of our whole campus chapter, I give you my thanks!

Stay tuned, as we hope to share a few updates right here on this page while we are on the trip.