More than 5,000 college and high school students will spend their spring break this year helping people in need of a decent and affordable place to call home. The students will travel to 35 U.S. states to help build homes and improve local communities through Habitat for Humanity’s alternative spring break program, Collegiate Challenge.

“Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge program offers a tangible way for students to improve local communities and work alongside Habitat homeowners to help them build a better future,” said Mark Andrews, vice president of Volunteer and Institutional Engagement at Habitat for Humanity International. “We’re grateful for their hard work, which will have a lasting impact on the students and in hundreds of communities nationwide.”

College and high school students are spending their spring break working alongside Habitat families in need of decent and affordable housing.

This month, students will volunteer in 142 communities and donate more than $1 million toward Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

For more than 25 years, Habitat for Humanity has provided alternative school break volunteer opportunities to high school and college students through its Collegiate Challenge program. The unique one-week volunteer program is offered year-round. Since 1989, nearly 256,000 students have participated in the program and donated more than $28.1 million to support Habitat’s work in local communities across the U.S.

Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge is one of several opportunities for the next generation of leaders to engage in Habitat’s work. For more information or to register for a Collegiate Challenge event, visit habitat.org/volunteer/travel-and-build/collegiate-challenge.