House in Progress Diary

Home for Christmas

Yesterday, I picked up a newspaper on my EL ride home from work and read a heart warming article from Chicago Tribune Reporter, Tracy Dell'Angela.

Students Build A Dream:  Innovative effort turns eyesore near Manley High School into a refurbished home 

(If you want to access the article and you aren't a Chicago Tribune subscriber, try bugmenot.com).

Under the guidance of the Umoja Student Development Corp which gathered support from local businesses, over 100 Manley High school students have helped to refurbish a single-story home in North Lawndale for a neighborhood family.  They were able to apply their high school construction-trades lessons to a real project that has made a world of difference to someone else.

My favorite excerpt from Dell'Angela's article is this one:

During a tour of the home, aspiring architect Ashley Banks, a 2004 graduate, showed off the features of which she's most proud--a spacious eat-in kitchen with two walls of windows, an open stairway leading to a new side door and a closet big enough to be a baby's room.

When she was a senior, Banks helped design the reconstruction of the 1,200-square-foot home, an accomplishment that helped sustain her when she started to stumble last year in her first year of college.

"I'm just totally blown away by this, and I feel such a sense of joy and pride when I saw the smile on the new owner's face," said Banks.

This is all so "win-win-win".  For the neighborhood, for the family who will live in the house, for the students.  I know that many schools are being forced to cut technical skills from their curriculums...classes like "shop" and "home economics" are being dropped due to lack of funding.  But these really tangible, hands-on opportunities to learn and apply new skills can be so inspiring!  It's good to see that some of them are not only surviving, but thriving.

It keeps reminding me that a home can be SO much more to someone than just a roof and walls.  It is a refuge, a place of comfort, an environment offering affection and security.  And the feeling of competence to work on our homes, keep them maintained and clean and safe?  A wonderful feeling.

A very special Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays wish for those Manley High School students who used their gifts and talents to give someone a warm home for the holiday.

Posted by jeanne on December 23, 2005 at 2:41 PM