UIU students spend spring break building Habitat home in Kentucky
FAYETTE, Iowa (March 26, 2011) — Five Upper Iowa University students and three staff members spent their 2011 spring break in Richmond, Ky., building a Habitat for Humanity home. This is Upper Iowa’s 13th annual Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip to do community service.
Among the group that traveled to Kentucky were: senior Derek Kleitsch (Sumner, Iowa); junior Nicole Lenius (Tripoli, Iowa); junior Alisha Kilburg (Sabula, Iowa); senior Jason Lyman (Shenandoah, Iowa); junior Kayla Ludwigson (Alma, Wis.); UIU Grad Assistant Melissa Kipp (Fayette, Iowa); UIU Admissions Counselor Storm Schmitt (Fayette, Iowa); and UIU Executive Director of Student Leadership and Adventure Daryl Grove (Fayette; Iowa). The students held fundraisers and worked the concession stand at UIU athletic events to raise funds for the trip.
While working for Habitat for Humanity, the group helped build the exterior and interior frames of a house. However, due to unusually cold and wet weather, the frames were nailed together in a large old tobacco warehouse rather than being built on the actual home site. The UIU team also spent one day demolishing a dilapidated house on land donated to Habitat for Humanity. All salvageable materials are recycled by Habitat’s ReStore and can be purchased at an affordable cost.
“This group from Upper Iowa really carried the spirit of Habitat while here,” said Wendy Metcalf, Habitat for Humanity of Madison and Clark Counties, Ky. “I thank them for always going above and beyond the call of duty. They made a lasting impression.”
Upper Iowa University’s Alternative Spring Break is a community service initiative with the mission of promoting critical thinking, social action and community involvement by combining education and direct service on the local, regional and national levels.
“I was very impressed with our students. They definitely stepped up and did what needed to be done.” Kipp said, “We also had the chance to meet the lady that is going to live in the house we helped to build, which definitely made the experience real for all of us. I know many lives were transformed on this trip.”
For more information about Upper Iowa University, go to www.uiu.edu.
Contact:
Monica Bayer Heaton
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Phone: 563-425-5773
Cell: 515-291-2070
heatonm@uiu.edu
About Upper Iowa University
Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to over 6,600 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.