MC Law Students Help Habitat Build in Jackson
A Habitat project in Jackson received a helping hand from Mississippi College law students.
Working with attorneys with the Butler Snow firm, law students volunteered with a Salvation Army caretaker’s house build. They teamed up during the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration on January 20.
Recently, the MC School of Law Student Bar Association donated $5,000 towards the Habitat initiative in Mississippi’s capital city.
Dating back more than two decades, MC Law’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity “is important because it allows us to take an active role in making the community a better place to live,” says Trey McGivern, a member of the Class of 2014. “It teaches us as students the importance of helping those in need before we enter the legal profession.”
A 27-year-old Monroe, Louisiana native, McGivern serves as president of Habitat’s MC Law student chapter. He’s volunteered with Habitat initiatives since 2004, and plans to keep building low-cost homes for needy families for years to come. Such projects bring communities together and create affordable housing options across the nation.
“Habitat has such a positive effect in every neighborhood they encounter and it is a wonderful organization to be involved with,” Trey said. “I am confident that MC Law will continue to support the organization long after I am gone.”
Haley Martin, president of the Mississippi College School of Law Student Bar Association, is equally passionate about Habitat builds. Haley’s father, Bill Byrd, retired recently after more than a decade with Habitat for Humanity Gulf Coast. His involvement inspired his daughter’s commitment. Haley’s worked on Habitat builds on the Gulf Coast.
“MC Law is lucky to be involved with something that makes so much of a difference in the community,” Haley Martin said. Volunteering has become part of her DNA. “It is incredible how much I learned.”
The learning process will continue this spring as Mississippi College students, faculty and staff join with business people, church members, civic club leaders and others for a third Habitat project in Clinton.
Starting March 22, volunteers will pitch in to revitalize a vacant residence in the Cherry Park subdivision. The project will be completed in about two months. Painting, roofing work, landscaping, roofing, tearing down walls and clean-up are all part of the process.
Shari Barnes, the director of MC’s Community Service Center, says the university’s student clubs and tribes are already signing up. The first date for Mississippi College volunteers will be Saturday April 5 for students. Faculty and staff are planning to help on April 26. Campus Dining Inc, MC’s food services provider, is ordering box lunches to feed the volunteers.
Mississippi College volunteers seeking more information on the Habitat project in Clinton should contact Shari Barnes at 601.925.3267 or sbarnes@mc.edu.
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