About 30 children toured a construction site in Bellevue last week, testing floorboards, peering out windows and donating items to the family that will live in Habitat for Humanity’s latest production.

The house, on McLaughlin Circle in Olde Towne, is being built entirely by volunteers with Habitat for Humanity of Sarpy County. It is scheduled to be completed next month.

“I still feel like I’m dreaming,” said future homeowner Eunjong Lee, who was on hand to assist workers and then to greet the kids from Birchcrest Elementary School.

 
Lee had been on a two-year waiting list with Habitat but got bumped up when a prior applicant withdrew, putting her next in line for the three-bedroom home.

“It was a miracle of timing,” said Lee, a paraprofessional for Omaha Public Schools and divorced mother of two.

Habitat for Humanity of Sarpy County is affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International, a Christian ministry that builds affordable homes for the working poor or for those who have lost their homes in natural disasters.

Recipients do not get free homes, but a reduced price thanks to the volunteer labor and federal aid that can include mortgage loans bearing little or no interest.

“I never thought I’d have this chance,” Lee said June 16, fighting back tears as the youngsters came bearing gifts of food, blankets, books and more.

“I was happy to donate the stuff and to help Mrs. Lee,” student Robbie Harbin said.

Fellow soon-to-be seventh-grader Brysen Gantt said, “It just feels good. I want to help people and see them prosper.”

The summer school at Birchcrest is an optional enrichment program that focuses on community service, said teacher Jane Jones. It is open to fifth- through ninth graders in Bellevue Public Schools.

The students asked questions of the many volunteers who were putting in insulation. By law, the children were not allowed to work on the site, and the actual workers had to cease their labors until their guests departed. However, that made them available for questions.

“Why did you put that there?” Sameep Neupane, 12, asked of Dallan Heubert as he inspected insulation near a front window.

“This is called a vapor barrier,” Heubert said. The boy then asked about the necessity for said vapor barrier.

Heubert, a retired computer programmer from Bellevue and four-year volunteer with Habitat, didn’t miss a beat.

“If you keep moisture inside the house, it doesn’t get dry in the winter,” he said. “If the house is not dry, it’s not cold. The idea is not to be cold in winter, or to lose money as you heat your home.”

Neupane and the rest of the young group appeared satisfied with the answer and moved on.

Jones said the aim of the class is to expose children to actual community service. Taking them on location enhances their education while giving them that hard-to-describe-or-teach warm, fuzzy feeling.

The class is also working with other area nonprofits, including the Bellevue Food Pantry, Stevens Center homeless shelter in Omaha and the American Red Cross.

Lee, a native of South Korea and recently naturalized U.S. citizen, said she hopes to instill the same sense of community and fellowship in her own son and daughter, Tristan and Elora Trotter, ages 5 and 6, respectively.

“America is a good country,” said Lee, who moved here in 2002.

Meanwhile, Habitat is actively seeking homeowner applicants for future projects, said Executive Director Jon Costello.

“We are currently constructing our 27th house and will be breaking ground this month on our 28th,” he said. “We will start on our 29th house later this year.”

Applicants must meet guidelines and are required to fill out a pre-screening questionnaire on the website, www.hfhsarpy.org.

Habitat’s offices are located at 119 W. Mission Ave. For more information, call 292-6560.

Costello also said volunteers are always needed, not only for construction, but office work and fundraising.