More than 50 students from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Virginia will volunteer with Sussex County Habitat for Humanity (SCHFH) on Gibson St. in Laurel during their spring break. The youth volunteers are participants of Collegiate Challenge, Habitat for Humanity’s year round alternative break program.

From February 28 to March 20, students from George Mason University, Immaculata University, and St. Joseph’s College will help build a SCHFH duplex in Laurel. SCHFH duplexes are a two story design that will house two different low-income families in need.

“We are excited to host these students during their spring break,” said Tommy Williams, SCHFH’s AmeriCorps Youth Coordinator. “Their work will help a low-income family in need obtain a safe, decent, and affordable home, which should make a very memorable spring break experience.”

From February to April, Collegiate Challenge participants from across the country will volunteer in 200 Habitat locations. In the past 21 years of the program, more than 168,000 Collegiate Challenge participants have volunteered with Habitat during their school breaks.

“Students have a number of options to consider for their school breaks, and we are so grateful for their interest in volunteering their time with Habitat,” said Desiree Adaway, Habitat for Humanity senior director of Volunteer Mobilization. “Their efforts will help provide homeownership for so many families in communities across the country.”

The Collegiate Challenge program is one of the many programs Habitat has to engage youth in Habitat’s work. Since 2007, State Farm has served as the national corporate sponsor of Habitat for Humanity’s youth programs, with a sponsorship commitment of more than $1.1 million in grants each year. Additionally, State Farm offices contribute more than $500,000 annually to Habitat affiliates across the United States.

This year marks the third time that SCHFH has hosted Collegiate Challenge participants. SCHFH plans to help more than 10 families secure housing during 2010.

According to the Delaware State Housing Authority, over 4,300 Sussex County families live in substandard conditions, which are defined as housing needing repairs or replacements of at least two major structural systems. In response to this growing need for low-income housing, SCHFH is working hard to engage the community in building simple, decent, and affordable homes.

Since 1991, through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, the Georgetown-based affiliate has built 48 homes in Sussex County. Seventy adults and 127 children live in Habitat homes.

You can be part of the solution of building an affordable home with a Sussex County family. For more information about how to volunteer, sponsor a family, or donate, contact the Habitat office in Georgetown at (302) 855-1153 or visit www.sussexcountyhabitat.org.