2008 Woodie Awards
Sorority builds home for Habitat for Humanity
By Gina DiDomenicis
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Features
"I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we had a great time," Jackie Greco, a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, said. She and five other members of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority took time on Saturday, Feb. 9 to volunteer for the Habitat for Humanity organization in Chester, Pa.
"The fact that we could physically see what our time and effort was accomplishing made it so much more rewarding than just mailing an envelope with a check and not seeing how it helped," Greco said. These six Alpha Sigma Tau sisters embraced the chance to work with other volunteers to successfully build a future home, even if it meant getting their hands a little dirty.
The six Alpha Sigma Tau sisters, Jackie Greco, Katelyn McAneny, Donnelle Ciecierski, Amanda Russino, Jessica Todd- Marrone and Nicholle Starson, embraced the chance to work with other volunteers to successfully build a future home, even if it meant getting their hands a little dirty.
At 8:30 a.m., the girls arrived at the site on Poplar Street. Three houses were on this site, a single and a twin, two side-by-side. There they worked until midday on multiple tasks that were given to them, by their supervisor, Tom Burns. Some of the jobs were to sweep up the saw dust and to clear the scrap pieces by putting them in the dumpster. They also took all the heating ducts and organized them in the middle of the rooms so the perimeter was open for inspection, installed a staircase going from the basement to the first floor and moved the insulation to the second floor. Another task given to the volunteers was to knock down wooden pegs that were acting as temporary supports between the ceiling and wall, which were replaced with permanent ones.
At one point in the day Burns introduced the sisters to Cassandra, the woman who would be moving into one of the twin houses. She and her two daughters, one in high school, the other a commuter to a nearby college, were expected to move in hopefully by May or June. In order for this family to officially gain possession of the home, they must put in a certain number of hours of community service on the house. Along with that, the family pays for the goods it cost to build the home, never adding in costs for labor.
"The fact that we could physically see what our time and effort was accomplishing made it so much more rewarding than just mailing an envelope with a check and not seeing how it helped," Greco said. These six Alpha Sigma Tau sisters embraced the chance to work with other volunteers to successfully build a future home, even if it meant getting their hands a little dirty.
The six Alpha Sigma Tau sisters, Jackie Greco, Katelyn McAneny, Donnelle Ciecierski, Amanda Russino, Jessica Todd- Marrone and Nicholle Starson, embraced the chance to work with other volunteers to successfully build a future home, even if it meant getting their hands a little dirty.
At 8:30 a.m., the girls arrived at the site on Poplar Street. Three houses were on this site, a single and a twin, two side-by-side. There they worked until midday on multiple tasks that were given to them, by their supervisor, Tom Burns. Some of the jobs were to sweep up the saw dust and to clear the scrap pieces by putting them in the dumpster. They also took all the heating ducts and organized them in the middle of the rooms so the perimeter was open for inspection, installed a staircase going from the basement to the first floor and moved the insulation to the second floor. Another task given to the volunteers was to knock down wooden pegs that were acting as temporary supports between the ceiling and wall, which were replaced with permanent ones.
At one point in the day Burns introduced the sisters to Cassandra, the woman who would be moving into one of the twin houses. She and her two daughters, one in high school, the other a commuter to a nearby college, were expected to move in hopefully by May or June. In order for this family to officially gain possession of the home, they must put in a certain number of hours of community service on the house. Along with that, the family pays for the goods it cost to build the home, never adding in costs for labor.
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