Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993 TAG: 9303120125
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COLUMBIA, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
NOT ALL COLLEGE KIDS PARTY AWAY SPRING BREAK
Dozens of Virginia college students are spending their spring break in South Carolina, but they aren't at the beach.One group is in the small Lexington County town of Red Bank, shingling a roof and hanging siding on a new house. In North Columbia, another group is putting drywall in a home, while next door others are digging the foundation for a third house.
"My roommate told me I was nuts when I told him I was going to do this," Roanoke College senior Franklin Clayton said Tuesday while shoveling rock-laden soil from a foundation trough awaiting concrete.
But Clayton and 23 others from the Salem school resisted the lure of the beach and opted to assist Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer organization that helps people buy houses.
The students, along with 32 from the College of William and Mary, completing the Lexington County home say those who scoff at the idea need only try it.
"And we're getting lot of sun while doing it," freshman Laurel Shroyer said as she leveled strips of siding on the front of the Red Bank house.
It's the fourth year William and Mary students have spent spring break helping build houses in South Carolina for Habitat. The Roanoke College students have done it for eight years, helping local volunteers build 11 area homes.
The students said they're used to the weird looks they get when they describe their plans to classmates heading to Florida for a week of partying in the sun.
Some of the volunteers went to Florida last year, but it was no spring fling. They were there to help Homestead recover from Hurricane Andrew, just as they did in Sumter, S.C., after Hugo.
Karen McNeish was among them.
"I've done four other houses, either over spring breaks or in the summer," said the William and Mary senior who majors in economics. "This is pretty different from school, being out in the sun all day and hammering and stuff. But it's really fun."
The Red Bank home, sponsored by Westminster Presbyterian Church, is the 26th the local Habitat chapter has built or rehabilitated. It is the first in Lexington County.
Residents apply for the homes, which cost an average of $30,000 to build, and are selected by a committee based on need. Monthly interest-free mortgage payments, which go toward buying materials, average $175.
In return, those selected are required to invest 300 hours of "sweat equity" in building their home and homes for others.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.