SA plan a great idea (07/14/06)

What a marvelous idea.

It’s not often that a high school student council grabs the attention of the community beyond the school walls.

But that’s exactly what has happened at South Adams.

There, thanks to leadership from sponsors Michael Baer and Stephanie Shane and president Corey Sprunger, an ambitious exercise in community altruism and idealism is taking shape.

Plans call for students to raise $25,000 over the next several weeks from businesses and individuals in the South Adams school district. Paint buckets for collecting donations are already being put in place.

The money will go toward purchasing the lumber to build five Habitat for Humanity homes for families affected by last year’s Hurricane Katrina.

Rather than just send the check, however, the students and the school community will be building the houses themselves.

Over the course of homecoming weekend, which will be unusually early this year, the five houses will be built at South Adams High School. After dedication ceremonies, they’ll be disassembled into component parts so they can be shipped elsewhere for final erection on foundations.

Four of the houses will go to Gulfport, Miss., and the fifth will stay in the school district.

It is, indeed, a marvelous idea.

So often these days, the notion of community action gets lost in the shuffle. This time, it’s being moved to the forefront.

Students and the community will work together to raise the money. Students and community volunteers will work elbow to elbow to cut the lumber and frame out the houses.

In the process, they’ll be building something else, bonds and connections that will remain for years to come. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]