About Habitat for Humanity!

Habitat for Humanity strives to provide everyone with a decent place to live. As an affiliate of Habitat International, the UMass Chapter works directly with Pioneer Valley of Habitat for Humanity to build locally. We volunteer at 3-5 local builds a semester. Each year during Spring Break, we broaden our horizons and aspire to help a community in need around the US. This year, UMass students will be flying out to St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana to help the affiliate build homes for a week during the University's spring break period. Our program has never visited this location before, but we are eager to immerse ourselves and make a positive impact in the community.

The spring break service trip is one of the most rewarding events for our club all year. We build together, we cook together, and we form new friendships together. It is an empowering and humbling trip, but most of all a learning experience. As a group of students who have never met before come together to build a community, we learn together about ourselves and about the communities we are so generously accepted into. It is a wonderful opportunity to completely immerse ourselves in the mission of Habitat: fighting substandard housing. We have been able to work alongside future homeowners, often meeting their children and getting the privilege to hear their stories. 

The opportunity to help rebuild a community, both physically and socially, is truly life-changing.

Not only do the communities we work with benefit from the labor we provide during the week, but we as students gain new experiences, increased confidence, and life skills. We will learn everything from how to effectively work as a team to put a roof on (harder than it sounds) to how to cook and feed almost 20 people at once. We learn from Habitat supervisors and other students construction skills that range from using a hammer properly to putting up siding in a straight line (MUCH harder than it sounds). Most of all, we bring the spirit of community and giving back to UMass with us. 

To continue to do this work, UMass Habitat for Humanity is asking for YOUR help. Our club runs entirely on fundraising, and the Spring Break trip is our largest expense of the year. We are asking for any support you can give to us. The money will go towards paying for our spring break fees, which serve as a main source of revenue for Habitat affiliates all over the country. As we have worked tirelessly all year to make this trip happen, the students of UMass Habitat THANK YOU!

Check us out on Campus Pulse: https://umassamherst.collegiatelink.net/organization/habitatforhumanity 

To learn more about Habitat's mission or to discover volunteer opportunities look here: https://www.habitat.org/