Students are giving back by joining the first ever LHS Habitat for Humanity club.

When advocates from the organization came to the school asking to start a chapter, English teacher Keri Lauxman stepped up as the adult sponsor.

“They came to us and just asked who was interested,” Lauxman said. “It’s an organization that I have always supported financially, but I’ve never been on a build site, so I am looking forward to being a part of it. It is an organization that I have always been in favor of, and I think that they do such great things in our area, and I’m looking forward to getting involved.”

Twenty students have shown interest in the group and have had several meetings to learn about the organization and what they can do.

“I have heard about it before, and I was always really interested in it, but it’s really hard to join without having an affiliation,” freshman Genevieve Voigt said. “So I decided to join the club to be able to actually do something with it.”

Voigt as well as many other students are eager to help within the organization any way they can.

Habitat for Humanity began working in the Lawrence area in 1989. Since then, with the help of a network of volunteer workers and donors, Habitat has built 80 homes. Its mission is to provide safe, decent homes for families in need. Families living in the house help out by working on construction, raising money and raising awareness about the organization and its effects in the community.

Club members will help in multiple areas of the organization.

“We will have a couple areas of focus: working on developing advocacy about the organization here in town, also doing fundraising events and opportunities for the organization, as well as getting students involved in construction projects down the road,” Lauxman said.

Although volunteers younger than 16 cannot work on build sites yet, there are many other ways for them to help out. Sophomore Celie Davison joined the club as a volunteering opportunity and plans on getting involved in different ways.

“I would really like to get involved in advertizing it around the school and getting more people involved,” she said. “I think that would be very interesting.”

With many ways to volunteer and get involved in the community, Lauxman said students should seize those opportunities to help others.

“I think its an opportunity for young people to give back, to use their free time for something beneficial,” Lauxman said. “With advocacy, with fundraising and with actual construction, I can’t think of a better organization to support. So I think they do great things, and I think our students should know about them.”