Kids Assist Hungry Habitat Volunteers

Hi, my name is Grace and I’m 8 years old. I learned something interesting about how little kids can help grownups. I learned about an organization called Habitat for Humanity. This organization helps people by building affordable homes for hard-working people who cannot afford a decent house.

Most people who help Habitat for Humanity are big kids or grownups (you have to be 16 to work on a Habitat for Humanity work site), but on March 9 and 10 more than 20 little kids helped Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County. Sometimes when you are little you don’t think you can make a difference, but on Friday, March 9, students ages 5 to 12 gathered and made lunches for volunteers who were building two houses, one in Mount Laurel and one in Cinnaminson.
 
Then on Saturday we took those 30 lunches to the Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County work site in Cinnaminson and delivered them to the volunteers working there. This group of volunteers traveled all the way from Toronto, Canada, to help build these houses as part of the Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County program. The families who are buying these houses are also required to help build their own house.

The volunteers were really nice! They were high school juniors and seniors from Villanova College in Toronto. They told us a little bit about themselves, about their school and how important volunteering is in their school. Then they gave us a tour of the house and showed us what they were working on. They were building walls, putting in floors, hanging drywall and painting. They also explained to us how Habitat for Humanity works. One man working on the house actually bought his house through Habitat for Humanity a few years ago. He said he loved the program and the opportunity so much that he now works for Habitat for Humanity. These people showed us when everyone helps, it will make a big difference. Little kids made lunches for big kids, who help grownups with building, who help families buy affordable houses.

Thank you to everyone who helped build the houses. Thank you to everybody who made the lunches. Just like Live Civilly, Inc.’s “little man” says, “little actions can make a big difference.”

- Grace Buss is one of the co-founders, with her sisters Anna and Abigail, of the charity Live Civilly.