U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Caulking, painting and moving piles of rain-packed mud marked the start of spring break for 10 cadets in Texas March 22.
The cadets volunteered to take part in the Academy’s Alternative Spring Break and work with a Habitat for Humanity chapter in Corpus Christi.
In the coastal Texas town‘s western side, the cadets built a house and shed for a family in need.
“So far, we’ve put siding on the shed and we’re caulking it before we paint it,” said Cadet 2nd Class Zach Gerlach, cadet-in-charge of the Corpus Christi cadet contingent. “It’s a great opportunity to help people out.”
Many college students work with Habitat for Humanity as part of its Collegiate Challenge program to combine volunteerism with a low-cost spring break trip.
“This group is high-speed, low drag,” said Mark Blankenship, construction supervisor for the Corpus Christi chapter of Habitat for Humanity. “They’ve made a huge impact on the projects here. You get varying levels of volunteers with these projects. As volunteers come, these cadets are at the best functioning level possible.”
Some cadets attacked a task they hadn’t attempted before.
“I’ve been doing a lot of painting and been cleaning up inside the construction area,” said Cadet 1st Class Miranda Bray. “I’ve never painted a house so it’s been fun to get a little dirty. “I saw this as an opportunity to do something out of the norm and give back. There are a lot of opportunities at the Academy to go out into the communities across the country and give back to people in need.”
Seventy-five cadets are giving up their spring break to do construction work with Habitat for Humanity in six cities: Houston; Sacramento, Calif.; Oklahoma City; Okla.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; and Tupelo, Miss., March 21-25.
Academy cadets performed between 36,000 and 38,000 hours of community service in of the past five academic years, as part of the Academy's Cadet Service Leadership program, which connects community organizations with cadet volunteers.
The alternative spring break program is funded the Center for Character and Leadership Development and the Association of Graduates at the Academy.