Habitat for Humanity wants everyone to embrace act, speak, build week because – although the club has fun activities planned for this week – the club’s real passion is solving real problems that affect real people.

Members of Habitat for Humanity know first hand how important their work is to the recipients and their efforts.

“We were building in Waukegan and we were working with a man who had just qualified for a house. He had taken in his sister’s three children. His brother in law had passed away and his sister had fallen into drugs. The state had taken away her children, so he fought to get [them], but all of the sudden he had five children living in a two bedroom apartment,” Joe May, sponsor for Habitat for Humanity, said. “So we actually got to hear his story and watch how excited he was as we were helping him put his house together.”

Not only did the man’s story touch the club members’ hearts, but his connection to Waukegan High School, where he works as a janitor, made the experience that much more touching and inspiring, May said.

There are many stories like this that the club has experienced and it has given the students more appreciation for what they have.

“I think Lake Zurich needs to realize the problems happening like this and inform people of what our club really promotes because I don’t think many people know,” May said. “I think act, speak, build week should hopefully help do that.”

This week will help bring awareness to the people who are suffering without homes and without the money to ask for loans. Through this knowledge, Habitat for Humanity also wants to inform the school about how and why the club is helping those who are suffering, Kristie Houghton, senior and vice president of Habitat for Humanity, said.

“The goal of Habitat for Humanity is to provide affordable housing for people who are less fortunate in our community,” Houghton said. “The club as a whole is really awesome and important because the home is where everything starts. It’s for people who are down on their luck and need a little help to get back on their feet again and having their own home really helps them to get that confidence back and move on with their life and I guess have a better chance and their families as well.”

With such important information to spread, the club spends over a month preparing for this week. They even made up a little fundraising competition for the freshmen, Houghton said.

“It’s called penny wars,” Houghton said. “Each FAME class will have their own kleenex box that’s decorated like a house and they just put in change or how ever money they want. Whichever class has the most money gets donuts or pizza, depending on their lunch period.”

The money will go towards paying to build the houses. Members will be in the cafeteria advertising at a table and taking donations. The club brings in anywhere from 500 dollars to 7,000 dollars each year. Every dollar is one step closer to positively impacting someone’s life forever, Houghton said.