Bridgewater College students to serve With Habitat for Humanity in Abingdon Over Spring Break

A group of Bridgewater College students and a faculty member will trade suntan lotion and swim suits for hammers and tool belts as they spend spring break volunteering as construction workers with Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge Spring Break 2018.

Desiring an alternative way to spend their spring break – in lieu of the traditional beach scene – four students opted for working with Habitat for Humanity in Abingdon, Va.

The students, accompanied by Robbie Miller, chaplain of Bridgewater College, will leave for Abingdon, Va., on Sunday, March 4, and return to campus on Saturday, March 10.

For the 2018 Spring Break Challenge, the group will work in partnership with the Washington County Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

The BC Campus Chapter, established in 1995, is one of nearly 700 campus chapters worldwide. Organized by Bridgewater students, the group is affiliated with Central Valley Habitat for Humanity in Bridgewater, and helps provide shelter to the residents of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

This is the 26th year that Bridgewater College students have used spring break to work on various Habitat projects, including three trips to Miami and one each to Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Independence, Mo. and Austin, Texas.

Now in its 42nd year, Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing worldwide. The organization works in partnership with people in need throughout the world, building simple, decent shelter that is sold to them at no profit and financed with affordable loans.

Students making the trip are:

• Courtney Hawkins, a senior double majoring in art and philosophy and religion, from Collinsville, Va.;
• Robert Marenick, a first-year student majoring in business administration, from Mountville, Pa.;
• Anh Nguyen, a sophomore double majoring in global studies and economics, from Hanoi, Vietnam; and
• Jenna M. Walmer, a senior majoring in global studies, from Mount Joy, Pa.

Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to more than 1,900 undergraduate students.