The America East Student-Athlete Advisory Committee recently volunteered to help build a house with the Habitat for Humanity. On Saturday, April 22 the conference SAAC divided into two groups of student-athletes to provide assistance at local build sites in Brockton and Dorchester, Mass.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit housing ministry. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit, financed with affordable, no-interest loans.
Since its founding in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 200,000 houses, providing shelter for more than 1,000,000 people, in nearly 100 countries around the world. A new Habitat house is completed somewhere in the world every 24 minutes.
SAAC members pitched in their time to help with the process of building a house. Throughout the course of the day, members assisted alongside Habitat affiliates with the painting of the house, building the deck, preparing the roof and other general tasks the need to be accomplished for a house to be constructed.
Habitat affiliates work locally in communities around the world to select and support homeowners, organize volunteers and coordinate house building.
Student-Athlete Participants:
Albany - Ashlee Reed (volleyball), Daniel Bocanegra (football)
Binghamton - Lauren Massey (soccer)
Boston U. - Catherine Foley (hockey), Jed Prescott (golf)
Hartford- Mary Lynne Schaeffer (basketball), Courtney Gomez (basketball)
Maine - Sarah Holmsten (swimming & diving), Olli Ahvenniemi (basketball)
UMBC - Kristen Moorby (swimming & diving), Mike Housman (basketball)
New Hampshire - Danielle Clark (basketball), Connor Thomas (swimming)
Stony Brook – Courtney Teague (swimming), Noah Liiv (soccer)
Vermont – Art Femenella (hockey), Martin Klimes (basketball)