Carpentry students join with Habitat for Humanity to build homes
Whittier Tech students are out on the job again, and this time it’s for Habitat for Humanity. A crew of 12 carpentry seniors are working on building three homes in Salisbury for families who are economically disadvantaged.
“This is who we are,” said Alanna Stafford, 18 of Haverhill. “We are Whittier Tech and we give back to our community.”
When students and their Instructor Mike Sandin arrived at the site on Old County Road in September, they saw a large hole that would soon be a foundation for a duplex and two other new, partially constructed homes beside them. They got to work.
“It’s really amazing,” said Jared Recillas, 18, Haverhill. “I actually get to use a lot of the stuff I’ve been learning for the past three years.”
During their shop week, the seniors leave school each day at about 8:30 a.m. and work all day in all kinds of weather conditions. They’ve been on the job since mid-September and expect to be there all year.
“It’s a really good cause using our skills to help those who are struggling,” said Nick Glynn, 17, of Haverhill.
If they’re lucky, students work inside hanging drywall and building partitions when the temperature drops, but there are no guarantees.
“Working in the cold comes with the job,” Alanna said. We signed up for it when we picked this shop. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We love it.”
Other volunteers are working on the project, which broke ground in November, 2018, and all have their roles.
“It’s the best experience they can get,” said Carpentry Instructor Mike Sandlin, who runs Whittier’s outside program.
“This introduces us to the kind of jobs we are going to get in life,” Alanna said. “It’s everything we’ve been taught.”
Whittier students who are participating in the project are: Seniors Killian Barry, Nicholas Glynn, Jared Recillas, Angel Alvarado, Angelica Cintron, Siarra Cronin, Jacob Goodhue, Cody Littlefield, Jyrell Ruiz, Alanna Stafford, Tyler Wetherbee and Emily Wilson, all of Haverhill .
Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit builder of affordable homes founded in1985 by concerned local citizens who came together as volunteers. They are the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, the largest non-profit homebuilder in the world with a network of over 2,100 affiliates. Volunteers build simple, affordable, comfortable homes in partnership with the families who need them.
