Spring Breakers trade beach towels for hammers, shovels

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (WSVN) -- Rather than spend their spring break away on the beaches of South Florida, about 200 students are using their week off from school to build homes for families in need.

Students hammered, raked and shoveled through Jordan Commons on Thursday as part of the Collegiate Challenge, which encourages students to donate their annual holiday to the Habitat For Humanity effort. Participants also celebrated the youth program's 20 years of service to the home-building cause, during which time over $15 million has been raised. As for this year, the Collegiate Challenge expects to bring in $1.5 million for Habitat, with State Farm Insurance providing an additional $10,000 boost.

Over the past two decades, more than 166,000 spring breakers have volunteered during the Collegiate Challenge nationwide, with more than 10,000 participating in the program's South Florida leg over that period. "Spring break goes from mid-February to early April, and during spring break we'll have 14,000 students traveling across this country building," said Habitat representative Desiree Adaway.

For Sophie Crook, the manual labor has its rewards. "I'm still getting sun," said the volunteer. "I got a sun burn, and I'm doing good work too, so I killed two birds with one stone."

Thanks to this year's effort in Southwest Miami-Dade, six needy families will have a place to call home. "Some kid could some day be playing on the area that I'm raking," said Meredeith Katz. "That's a pretty cool feeling."

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