The Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity teamed up with Nicholls students, faculty, staff and alumni to create the Colonels Construction Crew, a campus branch of the organization dedicated to building homes for local citizens in need.Jeremy Becker, executive director of the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity, said the organization is hoping to get the Nicholls community more involved in the nearby areas by forming the Colonels Construction Crew. “We are wanting to eventually form a University chapter out of the Colonels Construction Crew,” Becker said. “Usually you will see university chapters on larger campuses like Louisiana State University; however, we are hoping to get one on the Nicholls State University campus.”
The Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity is ready to send the volunteers out to their area of work when they sign up. The organization is currently working on construction projects in Houma, Thibodaux and Gray and is looking for volunteers to work at the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a discount store in Thibodaux that sells items at 50 to 70 percent off retail value.
“We desperately need people to volunteer at the Bayou Area Habitat ReStore,” Becker said.
Nicholls students have been involved with the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity on previous projects like Extreme Spring Break, where students helped build houses for the Katrina relief efforts in 2007. The Nicholls International Club and Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship volunteered with Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity in October. Students spent a day building a house in the Angle Place subdivision in Gray.
People participating in the Colonels Construction Crew will be able to assist in building homes for families in Houma, Thibodaux and Gray and have the opportunity to volunteer at the Bayou Area Habitat ReStore. Volunteers that work a total of 10 service hours or two workdays over the course of one semester will receive a Colonels Construction Crew T-shirt and can use the experience as service hours for student organizations.
The Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity uses an application-based format to decide whom they are going to build houses for. Families must fall under certain minimum and maximum income levels. The level of income varies with the size of the family. Based on the 2009 Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity 2009 Guidelines, a family size of four has to have a minimum income of $26,750 and a maximum income of $42,400 a year.
Andrew Simoncelli, assistant professor of mass communication, serves on the board of the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity. “The Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity is looking for a way to get more University organizations involved with them,” Simoncelli said. “I would also like to get the GREEN club involved with the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity as well.”
People interested in volunteering with the Bayou Area Habitat for Humanity can contact Aimee Bourgeois at (985) 447-6999 or via e-mail at [email protected] for more information.
