By Ben Gerdeman
Special for The Review
Many students spend their school’s spring break by heading south for a dose of sunshine and relaxation. Sixteen Lake Orion High School students passed up the sun and fun to spend their spring break (April 5?8) volunteering with the Motor City Blight Busters and Habitat for Humanity Detroit Chapter.
Motor City Blight Busters transform Detroit neighborhoods, plagued by urban decay, depopulation and blight, into beautiful spaces filled with light and hope. Habitat for Humanity works to eliminate poverty housing, revive impoverished neighborhoods, and provide safe affordable homes for low-income families.
Students assisted Blight Busters by tearing down a burnt and abandoned home, clearing out a storage garage, and clearing an overgrown neighborhood lot.
Accordingly, students also worked at the Habitat for Humanity’s Restore, and removed and organized over 2,000 basement foundation bricks during — the pouring rain — in the Morningside neighborhood, in Northeast Detroit.
Besides working on the job sites, students collected over $1,600 for the Habitat for Humanity and Blight Busters. Students received 35 service learning hours towards their LOHS service learning requirement.
Attending the trip were: Monica Godoshian, Athena Anger, Demetri Duey, Justin Pavliscak, AJ Bruno, Megan Smith, Lane Krause, Paulina Pappas, Anthony Gerrard, Emma Hartman, Jim McNulty, Will Wharton, Patrick Tunison, Alaura Gibbons, Laura Emig, and Sofia Mendez. The trip was arranged and chaperoned by Lake Orion Schools Community Enrichment Supervisor Ben Gerdeman and LOHS staff: Jan Allard, Mike Bendle, and Jenna Bendle, as well as community member Allan Goetz. This was the 10th year LOHS students participated in the Dragon Guided After-school Program (GAP) Alternative Spring Break Project.