On Friday April 14 to Saturday April 15, Service for Peace embarked on a service retreat with hopes of providing UB students with a chance to get off campus or “to break out of the bubble of campus life” as put by club president Ester Teo. The club raised a total of eight volunteers to work in conjunction with the Habitat for Humanity based in New London, CT to assist in construction of a house in the area. The retreat started Friday evening and went through Saturday and involved several discussions in reflection to the task at hand.
The work with Habitat for Humanity started at 9 in the morning and comprised of installing insulation in the walls and ceiling of the house’s two bedrooms. The homeowner, Guerrina, joined the volunteers in the work as all clients of Habitat for Humanity are required to put in 400 hours (200 by themselves, 200 with other volunteers) of service time. She still, though, was very appreciative of the volunteers’ work and was surprised how they came all the way from Bridgeport to help. All of the volunteers were also very excited that the homeowner was working with them because it created a bond with them rather than just doing physical labor. Some commented that it allowed for a personal connection to be formed between them which was the crucial goal of the trip.
This was the last major service project for Service for Peace in the Spring 2006 semester and everyone agreed that it was an excellent way to end the year. As put by SFP member, Nathan Breland, “I realized that everyone working at Habitat (for Humanity), whether or not they really have the nicest persona, all have some deep inner commitment and reason for working here”. The retreat was also a recruiting tool as the club achieved three new members including Shushanna who regularly volunteered at the Astoria Park elderly home in Bridgeport and decided to try something new. All of the members of the club were so pleased with the trip that it is a strong possibility that this might become a yearly event. It would join up with such other annual events like the reading mentoring with great success over the past year.
If you are interested in helping out with this or any other project with Service for Peace in the future please contact extension 4015 for more information. Currently, meeting times for the club are Thursdays at 9pm but that is suspect to change next year. Service for Peace is always looking for new recruits and will be pleased to get as much help as possible.
University of Bridgeport
Monday, July 14, 2025