A University of Illinois Springfield grad-to-be in need of a home, a whole bunch of student volunteers and a local nonprofit agency all combined for a bit of serendipity this spring.
What else could you call it when UIS volunteers worked for a week on a Habitat for Humanity home that it turns out is earmarked for a fellow student who also is a foster parent?
“Absolutely it made it more meaningful for our students,” said Mark Dochterman, director of the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center at UIS. “It meant a lot that it was a fellow student.”
More than 175 student volunteers worked in shifts April 14-18 on the Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County home at 727 N. Seventh St. in the Enos Park neighborhood. YouthBuild was part of UIS Springfest activities.
“When we started, it was a concrete foundation and a subfloor,” Dochterman said. “It’s amazing to see what you can do in four days. It went from a foundation to a sealed home.”
When the house is completed near the end of July, it will be the home of Barbara Bell and her foster children.
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on May 18, 2014.
Read the article online
