High School Kids Learn Construction By Building Projects For The Community
Students at Hamilton Heights High School in Arcadia, Indiana can be proud of themselves. 60 students under Construction and Engineering Department Trades teacher Eric Fisher’s careful watch are giving back in a big way. This school year, those students, with Fisher’s help, are not only learning important construction skills, but also giving back ten-fold to their community at the same time.
Students at Hamilton Heights High School in Arcadia, Indiana can be proud of themselves. 60 students under Construction and Engineering Department Trades teacher Eric Fisher’s careful watch are giving back in a big way. This school year, those students, with Fisher’s help, are not only learning important construction skills, but also giving back ten-fold to their community at the same time.
When Fisher decided that it’d be a great experience for his students to combine learning with serving the community, he reached out to the co-founder of FeedingTeam.org’s Mark Hall, and pitched him his idea. To combine efforts and devise a plan that would allow Fisher’s students to build 10 new food pantries.
Fisher wasn’t necessarily in the market for a new student project for his Construction Trades I class. But one night when he and his wife were heading out for dinner, they drove past one of Hall’s bright yellow food box pantries and the idea hit. Fisher claims that if he and his wife had turned the other direction on the way to the restaurant, the project may not have happened.
After speaking with Hall and Hall’s wife Lisa, Fisher took the idea to his students. He was excited about the new project and hoped his kids would also be as excited. The project would also be a nice change of pace, as Fisher joked, “We can only build so many deer blinds.” So, he pitched the idea to his high school students by saying, “Let’s build something this semester that helps saves lives in our community, not take life.”
Fisher’s high school students loved the idea. His next step was to again speak with Hall about construction plans to build the food pantries. After putting those detailed plans together, perhaps the toughest part came next. That was obtaining the funding for the project and, more importantly, getting the materials necessary to build 10 food pantries. Thankfully, Fisher and his high school students had proceeds from last year’s Feeding Team Festival.
Purchasing the materials was easier said than done, though, as Fisher says, “In today’s economic climate it’s rare for students to have real lumber and materials to build with. It is a special learning opportunity for my students.” Another lesson well learned. The high school students were able to purchase $7,000 worth of new construction materials and the project was a go.
As the project started, both Mark and Lisa Hall met up with the students to review what the project was, to see their progress, and to also discuss just how important the work they were doing was and how much it meant to those in Hamilton County who were struggling. The Halls met with both of Fisher’s Construction Trades I classes to impress upon them the impact they were about to have. By building these ten food pantries, the high school students would be able to help distribute an additional 2,500 meals per month to those in need.
Mark and Lisa Hall have been running FeedingTeam.org for going on eleven years now. Their mission is simple, “to provide food for our hungry neighbors with an emphasis on serving families that don’t fit the models of public assistance and traditional food pantries.” As Hall explains, he and his wife early on were in the same position he sees many of those living in Hamilton County. Trying to make ends meet but unable to do so. He remembers the many nights where it was “one baked potato and a can of Dinty Moore beef stew” for dinner.
Hall estimates that there are roughly 27,000 “food insecure neighbors” in Hamilton County alone, so the food pantry solution was what he felt he and his wife should do. Now that he has the Hamilton Heights high school student’s assistance, FeedingTeam.org will be able to help so many more families. And as an added bonus, the students are learning a trade and community service at the same time.
“We were able to watch the students building the pantries and speak with several about career opportunities in skilled trades,” Hall said. “The students learned construction, team building, and project management skills, and the community benefits with new food pantries to serve hungry neighbors.”
In a very refreshing video, which can be seen here, Hall and Fisher describe the project and its origins, but the heart of the discussion comes from the two senior high school students who helped bring the project to fruition. One student claims college is not in the cards for him, but he loves learning the construction trade. Fisher even admitted within five years, that young man will be making more money than he does as a teacher.
The other high school student, a young lady, is on her way to college but says being able to focus on doing something for her community instead of concentrating on winning in sports has been a very rewarding experience. Learning a trade and giving back to one’s community. It is rewarding and heartwarming to see.
