With trying to balance schoolwork, athletics, a social life, and sleep, many students struggle to find time to volunteer and fulfill their community service requirements. Habitat for Humanity is a community service driven organization, so club members have many opportunities to volunteer whether it be through building houses or working in the Re-store shop.
Junior Meghan Murphy founded GMHS’ first Habitat for Humanity club this year as a returning student to Mason. She drew inspiration from seeing the alarming number of homeless people in DC this summer when she moved back to the US from Bangkok, Thailand.
“It was very surprising because [the US] isn’t a third world country, yet there were so many
homeless people [in DC],” Murphy said.
Murphy had worked on Habitat for Humanity projects back in Thailand, but she truly became motivated after seeing the prominence of homelessness within the US. She decided to turn this club into her IB Community, Action, Service (CAS) project as well.
“Building houses is community service you can actually see, you aren’t just giving your money to an organization,” Murphy said.
In addition to participating in builds, her plans for the club also include running various fundraisers and supply drives such as a coin drive to buy nails for houses called Nickel for Nails. Murphy has been adamant about staying in contact with Habitat for Humanity advisors from the Alexandria branch so that she can ensure that Mason students can participate in builds.
“I hope we can have [at least] three building days in the winter and even more in the spring,” Murphy said.
She also encourages people not to shy away from volunteering on their own time in addition to participating in club activities and events.
“[Falls Church residents] are so privileged and it is so important to give back [to the less fortunate],” Murphy said.
You have to be 16 to actually work on-site, but anyone who is 12 or older can volunteer at a Re-Store with a parent or guardian. The Re-store serves as a donation center, storage for materials and a resale shop for the community. The closest Re-Store is in Alexandria, VA, but there is also another located in Chantilly.
Meetings are on Wednesdays during Mustang Block in Ms Taylor’s room and anyone is welcome to stop by to learn more about the club.
