DOMESTIC PROJECTS

Council Bluffs, Iowa

2022’s Fall Break Project took place with Habitat for Humanity in Council Bluffs. Ten EWB-KU members worked on siding a house that was set for completion by Christmas. We spent the mornings and early afternoons measuring and cutting pieces of siding and making a racket in the neighborhood with hammering in nails. Our evenings were spent exploring The Old Market in nearby Omaha, Nebraska, attending a Hippo Campus concert, and hanging out at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch.

The cost of the trip fluctuates from year to year, but is usually around $200. This includes travel, lodging, registration, activities, and food. The location of our Fall Break trips has changed in the past, but we tend to stay in the Midwest.

New Orleans, Louisiana

2024’s Spring Break Projects took place in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team consisted of ten EWB-KU members and one Kansas State EWB member, which split into groups to work on our two projects in the community.

One project consisted of refurbishing a playground created by the community surrounding it for its 25th-anniversary celebration. We worked with the man and his wife who worked the playground into existence all those years ago. During the mornings and afternoons we worked on refinishing and repainting the structures, removing a wooden border surround the park, and uprooting tree trunks (which is a lot harder than one would think).

Our other projects were to power wash and repaint a church and its neighboring community center, update windows in traditional shotgun houses, renovating park bench in the community garden, building a new roof and pergola for the garden, and updating a deck.

We would usually spend our evenings exploring Bourbon Street and the surrounding area or staying in our Airbnb watching movies. We made sure to get a taste of New Orleans seafood and jazz!

Our Spring break trip is our biggest Domestic excursion, so its cost lies around $400 for travel, lodging, registration, activities, and food all together. In the past, we have spent our Spring Breaks in New Orleans working with Historic Green – an organization that “assists in the restoration and transformation of under-resourced communities” – and plan to continue working with them over Spring Break 2025.

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS

For the 2023 Fall Break Project, KU EWB worked with Habitat for Humanity in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Our members worked building a playhouse from scratch that Habitat for Humanity will auction off to fund their projects. Some of the work we did included cutting the wood, nailing pieces together, and finally painting. We worked on the house for a total of two days, and on Sunday, we also went to a Frisco park and walked along the trail to collect trash. Some of the fun things we did included getting brunch, making dinners together, some board games, and movies. Overall, everyone had an awesome time helping out a great cause and had a ton of fun (EWB)onding!

Wichita, KANSAS

For the 2024 Fall Break Project, KU EWB worked with Habitat for Humanity in Wichita, Kansas. Our members worked on getting their new warehouse filled with storage shelves, new doors, and furniture for two days. Our team also built a wall for the warehouse. The team spent one day moving donated furniture from an aerospace warehouse that was moving to the new Habitat for Humanity warehouse. When not working, we spent lots of time playing cards, going to an arcade with minigolf, go-karts, rock-climbing, and laser tag, solving an escape room, making smores, and going to the zoo! We stayed in an Airbnb and made some yummy food like tacos and grilled sandwiches. We loved our time with Wichita Habitat for Humanity and learned lots of valuable construction skills.