Just about every Saturday, New York Chiropractic College student volunteers lend a hand with the latest home being built for a local family through Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County, N.Y.
Still helping out their neighbors during the global health pandemic, Habitat and NYCC students worked together to follow health guidelines and take extra precautions. For safety measures, most of the work this fall has been outside and volunteers wear masks and make sure to sanitize often.
Sixth-trimester NYCC students are required to do five hours of community service and write a paper to reflect on their time spent volunteering. But for students, it’s about so much more than the community service credit they earn at the College. It’s about the feeling of helping people in need and giving back to the community they live and learn in.
Community service hours lead to years of local partnership
NYCC students have been volunteering with Habitat for at least eight years. Recent projects in Seneca Falls had some students spreading gravel for a sidewalk at a home on E. Bayard St, while others helped build a shed on Tyler Ave.
President of Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County Menzo Case said that student volunteers help them stay on time with their projects. “Our experience with NYCC students is that they are willing to take on any task — demolition, building walls, putting in plumbing, wiring, roofing, you name it! They bring with them a willingness to learn and patience to work with both skilled and unskilled volunteers and family members,” Case noted.
Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County partners with people in the community to help build or renovate existing homes to create affordable housing. A global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S., Habitat has long been a favorite choice for NYCC students fulfilling their volunteer duties. To learn more about the organization, contact Habitat for Humanity at 315-568-1190 or email volunteer@habitatseneca.org.
See more pictures on the Habit of Humanity of Seneca Falls Facebook page.
