After months of fundraising and construction, the class of 2016 Habitat for Humanity is nearing completion, but the project may be veering off schedule.

“Depending on the weather, we hope that it will be completed by the end of the school year and the family can move in over the summer,” Senior Adviser Chair Chris Pearson said.

“There’s a key ceremony with representatives of the school and Habitat for Humanity where they turn over the keys of the house to the family.”

According to some students’ beliefs, that key ceremony might be delayed, though the building managers have expressed no concern about the schedule’s timeliness.

Since the start of second semester, senior boys and girls adviseries have gone to Waukegan to work on the house. Some adviseries went to the Habitat warehouse, while others went to the building.

Though several work days have already been completed, some students believe the project is far from finished.

Senior Jacob Price, who went on his advisery’s work day March 29, said, “We broke down a cinder block wall and then ripped down a wooden garage. If that was for the New Trier project, the house was nowhere close to completion.”

A March 30 trip provoked similar student reactions. Senior Josh Handelman said, “It looks like it won’t be done until maybe July.”

“I went close to the beginning of the process,” senior Grace Joyce said. “But it seemed like there would be a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time. I’m not sure if it will be done by the end of the year.”

Despite students’ perception of a delayed completion date, this year’s project has still made a positive impact on those who have been and will continue to be part of the tradition.

“It was hard work but still fun and a good experience to have,” Handelman said. “The husband of the family who is moving in was there helping. That was pretty cool to see since he can watch the progress of his house being built.”

Senior Youna Byun said, “My advisery’s service date isn’t for a few weeks, but I’m very excited. I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun and a great way to give back.”
Fundraising has been one of the biggest successes of this year’s project.

“We raised over $22,000 at Winter Carnival alone. Feast Week was over $2,000, and the GoPro raffle was about $1,000,” Pearson said.
Senior Natalie Pecora appreciated all the new fundraising ideas.

“My friends and I went to Shake Shack during Feast Week and ordered Sarkis when we could. We like to go there anyway so having part of the proceeds go towards our class project made it a win-win.”

Students thought Winter Carnival was a great way to interact with younger kids as well as raise money and awareness for the project.

Byun said, “My advisery only sold concessions at the carnival, but it was so fun to meet all the little kids and we raised lots of money. I also saw a lot of the other booths and I could tell the kids were having a blast.”

“The Class of 2016 has done a great job thinking of new, creative fundraiser ideas and executed them very well,” Senior Girls Adviser Chair Susie Paunan said.
Paunan explained that the fundraising isn’t over. There is an online auction where New Trier students and their families can bid on items such as Cubs tickets, a weekend at someone’s vacation home, and other donated items.

“The auction is the week of April 11-15 and all proceeds go towards the project,” Paunan said. The link for this auction can be found on the New Trier website.