Rival High Schools Unite to Build a House
For the second time in Buncombe County, local high school students are raising funds and volunteering to sponsor an Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity home. The students will celebrate the start of the 2015 Student Build House with a wall raising ceremony on Friday, March 27th at 1:30 in Habitat’s Hudson Hills neighborhood in West Asheville. The event is open to the public.
Adding to their homework and after-school sports are “percentage nights” at restaurants, Hoops for Habitat, and school dances, among other fundraisers, to raise money for the house. Asheville Christian Academy and Christ School re-committed after their first successful Habitat Student Build two years ago, and Carolina Day School joined in this year. Each school will raise $18,333 to total $55,000. That’s a big chunk towards the $130,000 it takes to build a Habitat home: additional funds come from ReStore proceeds, individual donations, and current Habitat homeowner mortgage payments.
The partner family, Patricia (Trish) Wolfe and her two sons, are excited to get started. Trish is a Licensed Practical Nurse and Certified Nursing Assistant, and works at Mission Hospital. She is attending AB Technical Community College and will complete her associate’s degree in nursing this May. After purchasing her Habitat house, her next goal is to attain her bachelor’s degree in nursing. Trish posted on her facebook page: “In the midst of my final semester…the first wall to my family’s new house will be raised March 27th by a group of students. So cool that everyone in the house goes to school too.” Her home is expected to be completed in six months.