Morristown-Beard Teens Volunteer During Break

Students at took a different approach to spring break this year by using their week off to volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity program. Sixteen students and three teachers from the school traveled to Phoenix, AZ to build affordable houses for those in need.

High school seniors Charlie Hill and Casey Miller, and junior Gabby Farquhar are three of the students from Morristown that participated in this trip. All of the students worked with teachers Andrewa Deventer, Jessica Weinberger, and Brad Turner on the construction projects, where they added a roof to a house, framed interior walls, and installed exterior prywood walls.

When the group wasn't busy on the construction, they got to go to a Major League Baseball spring training game and a National Hockey League game. They also enjoyed a hike at the South Mountain Preserve Park.

This is the school's 11th year in participating in the Habitat for Humanity Trip. Previous places they have gone to are Miami, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa, Fla.

In a statement from the organization, it states that "Habitat for Humanity believes that everyone deserves simple, decent, affordable housing. Their mission, as a nonprofit Christian housing ministry, is to seek to eliminate poverty housing by partnering with the community to make a decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action."

With the help of volunteers and donations, the organization has built more than 350,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities with a house since 1976.