GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Wearing a construction safety mask and large sunglasses to protect her eyes, Meghan Breen held open a garbage bag while a friend filled it with tufts of insulation, siding and broken tiles from a home demolition.

Breen and four others from Georgetown University’s School of Law worked with 15 fraternity members from Case Western Reserve University to demolish a house here on Mar. 7 during Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge.

Instead of spending spring break traveling, celebrating or resting, students gave a small donation and spent the week swinging sledge hammers and removing a house to make room for brand new homes for qualifying families.

“The thing is when you’re in law school you really can’t spend time not doing law, not studying for class, not doing extracurriculars, not looking for jobs, not preparing so this is really the only thing you can do that doesn’t involve the law to where you don’t feel guilty about not spending your time in the library,” said Breen, 29. “The selfish reason is to be able to not do law. The real reason is to be able to help other people.”

Taking a break from 16-hour study sessions, Breen and four others drove down from Washington, D.C. for a week to volunteer with Clay County Habitat for Humanity. Breen is the president of the Habitat for Humanity chapter at Georgetown Law and decided that after last year’s build in Delaware, it was time to build in warmer weather.

“Last year, we went to Delaware and it was freezing so the first day I was like I’m in charge next year and we’re going to Florida,” Breen said. “When I was growing up, we spent our summers down here. It was crazy to me they hadn’t come down here before so I said I think we’re taking this outfit where there’s sun.”

The home at 415 N. Pine Ave. was built in the 1950’s and is one of three properties donated to Habitat by Wells Fargo. The current home and paved driveway will be replaced by two or three homes, depending on the acquirement of a sliver of additional property between the lot and the adjoining property to the south.

Habitat for Humanity’s Ryan McIntyre said the Collegiate Challenge brings dozens of students who can tackle major projects. Before the day was over, the group demolished exterior siding, insulation, sheet rock, plumbing and tile.

“They come out with a ton of energy,” McIntyre said.

Fifteen members from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity drove more than 13 hours from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio to volunteer. When they arrived on site the morning of Mar. 7, the house was fully intact but in less than one day, only the bare frame and floor of the house remained.

Case Western Reserve student Jonathan Healy, 20, said participating in the week long project focused on his fraternity’s values.

“We have three cardinal values that nationally Sig Ep is based on,” Healy said. “Virtue, diligence and brotherly love. We call it VDBL. All our programing is based around these cardinal values. That’s kind of what we always try to live by.”

A long standing tradition, members of Sigma Phi Epsilon volunteer each year for Habitat for Humanity and have served in Alabama and North Carolina. Service is a requirement in Case Western Reserve’s Greek life but Healy said participating in service is about building relationships.

“It’s nice because we can bond while we’re doing the service instead of going home and doing individual service or relaxing,” Healy said. “A lot of guys are willing to give up a week to do service and hang out when the work’s all done. It’s also a really good resume builder. It’s always great to say oh, I took my spring break to go do some service but I think more than anything why we all do it is to bond. There are few other places where 15 guys can go. We pay for gas and a small fee to support the mission here but I know it’s a combination of brotherhood and our values that brings everyone down together.”