RE F L E CT IONS
20 YEARS PARTNERING
WITH APPALACHIA
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Reflection on
1994 Service Immersion Trip
TO NAZARETH FARM
By Larry Spollen ’95
With my collar turned up and face buried into
my coat, I cursed myself for forgetting my
hat. I was waiting on a Riker’s Island bus on
a dreary Saturday morning. Under the roar
of departing LaGuardia jets, I contemplated
how ruined Saturdays on that miserable
island became part of my life. They are
unfortunately part of a Public Defender’s
reality. Jail visits, however, were not part of a
life that my 17 year-old self ever envisioned.
I didn’t realize it 25 years ago, but the joys
and challenges of my first Trip to Nazareth
Farm were the early building blocks to the
foundation of my public interest career.
Community, Simplicity, Prayer and Service
are the four cornerstones of the Nazareth
Farm’s Mission. Looking back at that week,
it is clear that they are the components that
made it so memorable. Looking back at the
past 25 years, it is clear those cornerstones
have influenced my involvement in social
justice initiatives.
Community. The community I arrived with
was composed of my closest friends. Each
day was filled with the rowdy banter, pranks,
and laughs we were accustomed to (sorry
Mr. Carney). The community we built was
with students we met from other schools
who seemed like old friends. Many of those
friendships extended well beyond the trip.
The community we came to serve, was
thankful, gracious, and welcoming.
Simplicity. The simple life meant outhouses.
Some of us struggled using them and others
were given the unfortunate task of cleaning
them (others made the unfortunate
decision to forgo using them for the entire
week). Sleep did not come easy on the
mattressless rope beds. Leaving behind
TV’s and stereos, however, led to genuine
conversations on the farms front porch. It
was there that our friendships strengthened
and the new ones were made. A shower
restriction spawned a ritual raucous group
dunking every morning (in swim trunks –
of course) in the local “crik.” Our antics
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entertained the staff and other volunteers.
In 1999, with increased student interest
in service immersion trips, the program
ventured to the mountains of Tennessee to
partner with Appalachia Habitat for Humanity,
the 2nd oldest Habitat affiliate in the country.
With the Prep phasing out its fleet of vans
for yellow school busses that summer due
to new state regulations, the first group of
8 students made the 14-hour journey in a
rental van from Vantastic Rentals.
They
arrived late on a Sunday evening to their
home for the week- a rundown old trailer.
The accommodations were simple to say the
least but they would find out that many of the
families they would be building homes for
lived in far worse conditions.
Prayer. On Nazareth Farm we put our faith
into action. Every night we gathered to
pray and reflect on our service. For me, it
solidified the connection between social
justice and our faith. Some years later
I continued with concerted reflections
on this vital connection in the Jesuit
Volunteer Corps (JVC’s 4 pillars are almost
identical to Nazareth Farm’s). My personal
examination and prayer have waned since.
Hopefully, the act of composing this piece
will help to reignite personal reflections. It
has reminded me that our Catholic faith
demands we speak up and work for the
marginalized.
and 32nd homes and donate $175,000 to
fund the projects.
Working together, Fordham Prep and
Appalachia Habitat for Humanity will continue
to provide affordable housing for families in
Tennessee for many years to come. God has
surely blessed this special partnership.
As the students went about their work that
week, they soon discovered that Appalachia
Habitat for Humanity was making a real
difference in their community. They were
helping families who struggled financially,
realize their dream of home ownership with
500 hours of sweat equity and a no-interest
loan. They also discovered that like some
of our other partner organizations, the staff
of Habitat was eager to welcome high school
students into that mission. The patience
and kindness of the construction supervisors
– Curt, Steve, Les and Big Mike- was only
matched by the warmth and hospitality of
the then volunteer coordinator and now
executive director, Haley Terry.
Service. Growing up in and around New
York City, we were all familiar with urban
poverty. West Virginia, however, presented
a poverty we were not familiar with. The
contrast between the pristine hollers and
the local deprivation weighed on us. With
only a week to work, we were just small
components of larger construction and
repair projects. Despite the little parts
we contributed, we returned to New York
basking in the gratitude of the families we
helped.
Over the past 25 years, I’ve worked in
a Head Start in Oregon, I hiked the hills
of rural Honduras in the name of clean
water, I joined volunteers halting unjust
demolitions in a post Katrina New Orleans,
I helped Filipino asylee gain legal status in
this country and I marched on the White
House with my pregnant wife. That first trip
to Nazareth Farm was a first step that led
to those moments striving for social justice.
I am thankful for my friends, family and
teachers that have supported and inspired
me with their own unique achievements
over the years. I know that the group of us
on that trip continues to work to meet the
ideal of being men for others. It is a result
of our experiences at Fordham Prep and at
Nazareth Farm.
mother named Amy and her son Evan. Since
that time Prep students and faculty have
donated over 2 million dollars to Appalachia
Habitat for Humanity to build 30 homes in
Scott and Morgan Counties. This summer
almost a hundred Prep students along with
faculty and alumni will build the Prep’s 31st
Within a few years the program was annually
sending six to seven groups to work in
Tennessee and in 2006 Fordham Prep fully
sponsored its first home, providing all the
funding and labor for the home of young
View more pictures of the first Tennessee group and other groups
throughout the past 20 years at www.fordhamprep.org/fpcsitrips25
Our Catholic faith
demands we speak
up and work for the
marginalized.
SUMMER 2019
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