Students partner with Haitian family in building a new home

Ready to get to work, from the left, back row, Janine Mahoney, Mike Mundy, Jeff Gibbs, Andrew BeltCappellino; front row, Corrine Mahoney, Gina Giambruno, Katie Siller, Morgan Anderson, Nick Kestler, Shelby Willumsen, Nurse Mary, Jimmy Read, Jay Card, Chris Napolitano and Corey Brewer.

Members of the Shelter Island School National Honor Society andother student volunteers raised the walls of a Habitat for Humanityhome in North Bellport this weekend for a Haitian-American familywho thanked them with tears in their eyes and then worked alongsidethe students on their new home-to-be.

According to Habitat, Monique and JosephJean-Fran§ois and their 8-month-old daughter are livingin a cramped and outdated one-bedroom apartment with poor airquality and no place for their daughter to play. They are waitingfor the arrival from Haiti of their son Jeff, who hopes to earn auniversity degree in the States, and their adopted son Angy. Theyhad just learned that both sons survived the earthquake inPort-au-Prince and were unharmed, although the house they had beenliving in was destroyed and they were sleeping outdoors. Theparents both work in Suffolk County – Monique as a nursingassistant and Joseph as a home health aide.

The experience “was very satisfying, Honor Society AdvisorJanine Mahoney said about the day, and she gave credit to JeffGibbs and school nurse Mary Kanarvogel, who both volunteered todrive, and to the students who filled in for Honor Society membersunable to participate due to illness. For student reactions to theday, see Newsday’s on site interview atnewsday.com/long-island/suffolk/shelter-island-students-help-build-patchogue-house.

This fall Honor Society students raised over $3,000 toparticipate in Habitat’s “2010 Student Build Project and raisedawareness about the homeless as well by spending a chilly night incardboard boxes in front of the school, with a burn barrel forwarmth.