In December of 2016, I joined 50 other Ohio State students on a BUCK-I-SERV trip to Birmingham, Alabama. We volunteered with the area’s Habitat for Humanity who works with numerous families to build affordable housing for those in need. This was my first time on a BUCK-I-SERV trip, as well as Habitat for Humanity. This volunteering experience was very rewarding in many ways. I was able to see a part of the country that desperately needed affordable housing due to the impoverished and deserted area. In the process, I met the families that would be living in the houses. These families had various requirements that they needed to complete before owning one of the houses including: 240+ service hours working on their own home as well as completing a financial literacy course with Habitat for Humanity. These aspects were eye-opening because I didn’t know all the work the families complete before owning one of the homes. Our 50-person group was further split into three groups, and we rotated during the week to volunteer at five different houses. During the 40 hours on site, I painted the interior and exterior of the houses, laid landscape, as well as various as needed tasks such as caulking the exterior surfaces of the homes. I had the chance to see each of the houses at different times of building. Some of the houses had previously lived in, and others had been started from scratch. On the final day of our trip, we completed a house and the family got to move in the next day. Doing this service is necessary, and I plan on going on many other trips in the future.

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