Press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School

The Habitat for Humanity Club at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School has been officially named an affiliate campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity International. RFH, one of only two official campus chapters in Monmouth County, was recently awarded a disaster services grant totaling $11,100 from Habitat for Humanity International and State Farm Insurance.

The RFH Habitat for Humanity Club, with over 110 student members participating in builds, clean-up projects and fundraising, provided a boost to the campaign by applying for and receiving the grant. The money will be presented to Habitat for Humanity/The “House That Youth Built” by a representative from State Farm, which has been a supporter of Habitat for Humanity since 1994, and will be used by the Club for the “House That Youth Built,” a youth-based service project for the Henn Family of Middletown Township.

The Henns were displaced from their Port Monmouth home in 2012, when it was deemed uninhabitable due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The family, consisting of a widow raising her 18-year-old granddaughter, has been living in a Keansburg apartment for over two years.

The “House That Youth Built” engages schools from Monmouth County in fundraising efforts to help the Henn family to rebuild their home. Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County hopes to raise $60,000 through the campaign in order to construct the home, which will be the fifth “build” resulting from displacement by Hurricane Sandy.

“We are so grateful to be a part of rebuilding this community after the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy,” said the Club’s Faculty Advisor and RFH science teacher Susan Pagano. “I am extremely proud of all our student members who volunteer so much of their time and energy.”

RFH Habitat for Humanity Club Officers for the 2014-15 school year are Co-Presidents Allie Geiger and Sarah Nelson, Vice President Tommy Babcock, Secretary Tommy Lenskold, and Treasurer Lindsey Corydon.

“Our community was greatly affected by Superstorm Sandy, and as students we recognized that we could really make a difference to a family in need; applying for the grant was a no-brainer,” said Sarah Nelson. “We are excited that several local schools are also participating in the “House That Youth Built” program.”

For more information or to donate to “The House That Youth Built” campaign, visit http://share.habitat.org/henhome.