Bright and early on a Sunday morning, 10 St. Lawrence University students loaded themselves into a SLU van to head down to Churchville, Maryland. They returned to Canton, New York a week before the rest of campus, ready to hit the road for a seven-hour drive.
The students volunteered their time to work with Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, participating in an alternative break trip. In the past, SLU offered a variety of volunteer trips to students during spring and winter breaks. This was the first alternative winter break trip offered to students since 2020. The St. Lawrence chapter of Habitat for Humanity has provided spring break trip to Georgetown, South Carolina, for the past two years. The club was excited to see the return of a second trip.
The start of the group’s week in Maryland allowed them to do some sightseeing — the group was not scheduled to start volunteering until that Tuesday. “It was a great way to start our trip,” said Trip Leader Madyson McCarthy ’25. “We were able to do some group bonding before we started working together,” she added. After settling into their Air BnB, the group packed into the big white SLU van once again but headed over to the nation’s capital, a mere hour and a half away from where they were working.
The group spent their free day wandering around the National Mall, visiting the Smithsonian museums and national monuments. The highlight, for some, was a squirrel. “We saw an albino squirrel,” said Nora Kenyon ’27. “That was the best moment of my life. Albino squirrels are 1 in 100,000,” she continued.
Their first day of volunteering was at the Aberdeen ReStore, run by the HFH Susquehanna chapter. The ReStore is a non-profit thrift store for furniture and building supplies. People can donate old or extra items, and all the profit goes towards Habitat for Humanity to help them further their mission. “We went through so much stuff,” said Kenyon. “It was pretty much people’s discarded stuff, and we determined what we could put on the floor,” Kenyon continued.
At the ReStore, the group split up as needed to complete odd jobs. All around the store, there were little tasks that needed to be accomplished. “I went from painting a wall to working in houseware and then organizing the clothing section,” said Gretchen Hirschfeld ’25. “No matter what tasks I was doing, everyone had such a positive and uplifting outlook, which was such a nice environment to be in,” she continued.
The week St. Lawrence arrived, the ReStore piloted a new section to their storefront: clothing. Volunteers and staff manned the ReStore. One volunteer, Barb, knew the ReStore had to start selling second-hand clothing. Barb’s Boutique, as it was known, became one of the largest revenue-generating sections of the store within days of opening. Lucky for her, she had a group of fresh-faced volunteers eager to help. “Barb is such a genuine character,” said McCarthy. “Anytime we saw an article of clothing we liked, she made sure we left with it. You could really tell how much passion she has for her job and for helping others.”
The second day of volunteering brought the group to 420 Ohio St. to work at a build site. On Ohio Street sat three habitat houses: one with the foundation poured, one a few months shy of being move-in ready, and one with a family already inside. The group helped with the second house, primarily with caulking and painting. “I learned how much caulk goes into a house. It’s crazy how essential it is,” said McCarthy.
Habitat Susquehanna aims to build six houses every year. The house the St. Lawrence volunteers were working on was for a single mom of three boys, named Amanda. The crew got to work alongside Amanda, who was working towards her sweat equity goal of volunteering 250 hours. Sweat equity hours are a prerequisite to owning a Habitat house: to be eligible, a future homeowner needs to reinvest their time in Habitat for Humanity.
The crew worked at the build site for a few days, accomplishing a lot. “I was surprised with how fast it went,” said McCarthy. “Everyone was so happy working together,” McCarthy adds.
“I cried for a whole week because I didn’t get to go,” said Habi Resident Renate Jakobsen ’26. But fear not, for SLU Habitat is planning a second alternative break trip to be held over spring break. “It’s a great way to bond, learn some new skills, and have an all-around good time,” says McCarthy.
“I wake up every day with glee running through my blood, wiggling my toes with the possibility of going on the spring break trip,” concluded Jakobsen.