They dare to take their learning to the streets. In addition to the spring-break trips, the chapter also organizes Saturday work projects on the South Side. Because Habitat does not have a city affiliate serving the South Side, the U of C chapter has developed its own relationships with community organizations. The group has been helping the Matthew House social-service center rehab a building that will provide transitional housing for 20 homeless men. U of C students have also worked on St. Luke's Place, a residential-service facility for people with HIV or AIDS, and at projects led by Woodlawn Development Associates.
Students hammer siding on a home in Mississippi.
The U of C chapter has also sought to take part in Habitat's global initiatives. Over this past winter break, it organized its first international work trip, traveling to Nicaragua. After being briefed in Chicago by a worker for Habitat's Nicaragua chapter, Grainger and the students headed to Managua. They met with local college students and attended orientation seminars on the country's history and on sustainable development at the Augsburg College-affiliated Center for Global Education. In Diriamba, they mixed concrete, transported 120-pound limestone quarry rocks, wrapped rebar, and smoothed sand floors alongside families whose homes had been destroyed by the hurricane.