UHS Habitat for Humanity Club Trip
They organized numerous fundraisers this school year to help cover the trip’s expenses, including a volleyball game, a masquerade dance, and bake sales.
This is the first time that the group – and Urbana High School – has had the opportunity to partake in a trip like this.
“It’s a really great opportunity for our school to be able to have a chance for students to go on a service learning trip like this and I have wanted to do it for a long time and it totally surpassed my expectations,” said Mark Foley, teacher and chaperone. “It was so much better than I thought it was going to be, mainly because the kids were so good and everybody had so much fun but everybody was open to empathizing with the people in poverty.”
The impact of this experience was evident when the students returned home.
“Being in Mississippi made me realize that poverty is an issue in the United States. Most of the time, when you think about poverty you think of third world countries and you don’t realize that there are people in the U.S. who are suffering too. Even though we were only in Mississippi for a short time, it was nice to know that we were apart of giving someone a better future,” said Junior Maddie Headtke.
Students were encouraged to use their electronics sparingly while on the trip and pack their own tools to take on the worksites. They were able to absorb the culture and observe the conditions of the area.
Junior Cedrick Fry said, “The habitat trip was amazing. It really made everyone realize that they need to be thankful for what they have. It brought a bunch of people closer together and gave us a very different perspective on the southern way of life.”
In addition to observing the effects of poverty, the students visited the courthouse where the Emmett Till trial took place and the river where his body was found.
“We were really able to be in the middle of all that history, which I think really helped the students to make connections that they wouldn’t have been able to make otherwise,” Foley said.
The students also shared how the trip enlightened them.
Senior Martha Henigman said, “The Mississippi trip was gratifying for me because I saw these seemingly hopeless conditions only an eight hour car ride away from me. But the people were so open and accepting and genuinely grateful for all they had and all we could give them. That’s what struck me the most.”
Foley added, “The experience in Mississippi was the best thing I’ve ever done as a teacher, by far. It was an amazing experience because we spent a lot of time working together and having fun together, but then also students really had a chance to think about poverty and race issues and issues of class, but then also about themselves and their lives and what they’re doing, why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
Foley described how the labor of building houses bonded the club and prompted the students and chaperones to become “a big family” with a great “sense of connection” to one another.
The trip has garnered a great deal of positive attention from students and staff at UHS and will hopefully become an annual tradition for the club.
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