Albany State students spend MLK Day working on Habitat house

ALBANY — Students from the Albany State University (ASU) Campus Chapter of Flint River Habitat for Humanity celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday, by lending a hand to help an Albany family realize their dream of having their own home.

As part of the MLK Day of Service, which honors the humanitarian spirit of the late Martin Luther King Jr., roughly 20 students joined Flint River Habitat for Humanity employees and volunteers to paint the interior of a home in East Albany, which will eventually house the Fausto and Gonzalez family.

“We’re here to build homes for families who need it and give them a place to live,” said ASU student Willard Weston II. “When you get an opportunity to help someone else you should always take that opportunity. Right now we’re not in class, we’re not doing anything, so just to serve someone else who is in need, that’s a good thing to do.”

Weston and the rest of the students taking the time to serve their community is something that is vitally important to Flint River Habitat for Humanity, which, thanks to the volunteer efforts on Monday, is one step closer to providing a home for the first Hispanic family that has received a home in Dougherty County from the organization.

“This is the first home we’ve done for a Hispanic family,” said Flint River Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Jennifer Vanston. “I think that’s really important because it’s important for what we do to reflect the diversity of our community in Albany and Lee County.”

Vanston said the MLK Day of Service activities were also important because those activities mirrored the lessons and teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I think the mission of Habitat is very much in line with the beliefs of Dr. King,” Vanston said. “What we do sort of embodies the spirit of his quote that everybody can be great because everybody can serve. I think we’re really embracing the spirit of everything Martin Luther King believed in.”

The teachings of King were also not lost on the students as they spent their off day in service to others either.

“We have the opportunity to help people out because that’s what Martin Luther King did when he was on this Earth,” said Weston. “He always tried to serve his fellow man, so if we can do the same thing then I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”

Although Weston and the other students on the home site tried to defer taking any credit for doing a good deed, the choice they made to volunteer on their day off was not lost on those associated with Habitat for Humanity.

Javoski Chambers, a Habitat employee and crew leader, said he loved seeing the students scattered throughout the house putting fresh coats of paint on the walls.

“I love it,” Chambers said. “It makes me feel really good to see them here. I think it’s good that they’re giving back. They didn’t have to come but they did. They were willing to do it. I think it’s wonderful.”

Chambers, Vanston and the rest of the Habitat staff were not the only ones who thought what the students were doing was wonderful.

Susana Gonzalez, whose family will be moving into the home in April, was also on site with a paint brush in hand. Asked how it felt to be the recipient of not only the home itself but the love and dedication that went into preparing it for her family, she was almost too overwhelmed to speak.

“I just feel blessed,” Gonzalez said with the help of her daughter Neidaly Fausto. “I just thank God for this opportunity.”

Gonzalez and Fausto were also joined by other family members who will be living in the new home, including Emily Fausto, Gerardo Fausto and Kenia Fausto, all of whom were also hard at work.

In addition to the 20 ASU students hard at work painting the house for the Gonzalez/Fausto family, another group of 20 students were also volunteering for the MLK Day of Service at the Flint River Habitat for Humanity Restore on Pine Avenue.

“The students are awesome,” said Vanston. “We have a great ASU chapter. They get involved with all sorts of projects and activities. They’ve been a wonderful edition to the Habitat for Humanity family. We’ve got 20 students here and another 20 at the Restore. This is their day off and they could just be relaxing, but instead they’re joining hands and getting involved in a community service project. They deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Weston summed up the spirit of the day and the mission of Habitat for Humanity in general when he said “There’s extra meaning in this. I don’t see it as just painting a house. This is serving your fellow man. If you were in the same situation you would hope that someone would do the same for you. That’s how I see it.”

Genie Cross, a volunteer with the ASU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity rolls a fresh coat of paint on the walls of a house that will soon be the home of a local family in need as part of the MLK Day of Service. (Staff Photo: Brad McEwen)

Neidaly Fausto, top left, joins her mother Susan Gonzalez, top right, and her siblings Gerardo Fausto and Emily Fausto in front of the home the family will soon be receiving front Flint River Habitat for Humanity. (Staff Photo: Brad McEwen)