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P-T students help Habitat for Humanity By VICKI GUARINO Students interested in the construction trade and a home-building charity in need of volunteers are finding a mutual interest at a South Oakdale Avenue subdivision. The site of the newest project for Jackson County's Habitat for Humanity is also the newest real-world classroom for a Phoenix High School vocational program. This spring, four students are spending one day a week helping to build the four-bedroom home in south Medford. Not only is the team getting some useful lessons in construction, says Phoenix sophomore and student crew boss James Hall, "We get to go out and help the community and help someone who is less fortunate than we are." The students are part of the school's Rainbow Project, a program that combines vocational training, lessons in entrepreneurship and community service. "Our motto is: `Good for the kids; good for the community,"' says Rainbow coordinator Becky West. The program began seven years ago at a burned-out vacant lot in the middle of Phoenix. Working with the city and using donated supplies and materials, Project Rainbow students turned the eyesore at the corner of Rose Street and Highway 99 into a community garden. Over the years, participation has grown from just a few students to about 40 as different programs have been added. Project Rainbow's Sunbean Company stirs up mixes of beans and rice in ready-to-cook packages and sells them to local stores. The Twist Pretzel Co. sells fresh-baked pretzels to students daily. Flower Power makes fresh-cut blooms available at school. Puppy Power takes puppies from the county shelter on visits to residents in Phoenix' Northridge Assisted Living center. Besides cheering the elderly residents, the program has won over some Northridge staff members who have wound up taking the pups home. Students gain work experience through the projects, begin forging friendships in the community and start exploring career options, West says. Money raised from the commercial ventures and contributions from businesses go to support and build Project Rainbow, including providing stipends to participating students. West says she tailors the programs to the career interests of students. When she learned of the students' interest in construction, she set out this school year to find a project. By the time she caught up with Habitat for Humanity, the charity was in the market for volunteers to work on the Oakdale Avenue project. "We wanted to do this for a long time," says crew member Brandon Diaz, a freshman. A old home was brought to the building site in February. Since then, workers have laid the foundation, built a garage, and fully renovated the building. The house is expected to be completed by the end of June. The young crew from Phoenix has completed a variety of tasks. They've crawled under the house to secure the foundation, worked on the drywall and set interior doors. "Oh man, there's so much I liked," says freshman Michal Osborn. "I liked pretty much all of it." Eleventh-grader Jose Rodriguez especially liked crawling around under the house, bolting the framework of the house to its new foundation. Habitat crew supervisor Gene Wolf gave the Phoenix students high marks for their work as well as their attitude. "They got it done, and with no complaining." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA