For the 16th consecutive year, faithful and dedicated John Cooper School students are helping a family build a new home from foundation to roof shingles over the next 10 months and are learning much more than construction work.

The Habitat for Humanity house is a project that encompasses the whole school. Students from every grade level help in different ways, all of which are crucial to the success and completion of the home, said Maci Billiot, construction co-lead chair of the project.

The Lower School helps through the Quarters for Quarters campaign to raise money and participates in the landscaping workday at the end of the year to help put the finishing touches on the house. The Middle School contributes snacks for our workdays to help feed our hungry workers and joins us on-site to help paint. Upper School students have the opportunity to go on-site and help with the construction of the house, from small walls to roofing, and everything in-between, Billiot said.

Select Upper School students who have demonstrated a true passion and dedication for this endeavor make up the Habitat Steering Committee. They lead the construction on-site and behind the scenes, and hope to raise a minimum of $27,500 this school year through fundraisers, such as T-shirt and sweatshirt sales, a car wash, babysitting nights, and a barbecue during Spirit Week, according to Christopher Zupan, co-lead chair.

Zupan has participated in the Habitat project since he was in kindergarten, helping to plant flowers in one familys yard.

I really enjoy giving back to the community, Zupan said. Seeing them smile makes it all worth it.

When I first began helping, I started because I needed the community service hours, Billiot said. But then, I got to know the family we were building the house for and it became a more personal experience for me.

The 16th house built by John Cooper students is for a woman named Rosa Cardenas and her two children, Carlos and Sarai, who said, I am happy to finally start building on the house.

Families who receive homes from Habitat for Humanity do not receive free houses, they have a house payment each month and pay it down until the loan is paid off.

Kevin Dural said he really enjoys the unity of his classmates getting together to help others.

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John Cooper School students learn life lessons while building Habitat home