All-Female Crew from Lemont HS Lends a Hand to Habitat for Humanity

Like a lot of teenage girls, Lemont High School seniors Maddie Coules and Mallory Douglass didn’t know much about using tools.

But they learned—and fast.

While many area high school students were lounging poolside last summer, a select few from Lemont High School were willing to engage in tough labor in extreme heat for fun, volunteering their time for a good cause while their peers were relaxing in the sun mere steps away from air conditioning.

Douglass and Coules, as part of an all-female team, strapped on tool belts and spent a week working for Habitat for Humanity in Elizabethtown, Kentucky as part of the Collegiate Challenge.

Assigned to the Hardin County Habitat for Humanity, they became the chapter’s first group that included only high school students (let alone the first group of all female high school students). That’s pretty impressive considering the Hardin County chapter was starting its 55th Habitat for Humanity home.

Douglass and Coules were joined by fellow to-be seniors Hope Conway, Claudia Galica, Dylan Glosa, Carly Holzner, Chloe Mars and Clare Rachwalski.

“We both knew we wanted to do something over the summer, we both knew we wanted to do something a longer, type of mission trip,” said Douglass. “We bent the rules so we could go with our friends, and roped our two moms into coming with us.”

These students worked closely with a variety of Habitat for Humanity representatives, including Hardin County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Scott Turner and “Howard”— the construction foreman.

Howard kept these ladies hopping. They completed a utility shed that already had been framed by a previous group, laid rebar and poured concrete in a new foundation, and refurbished a home for new owners. They were able to accomplish all of this in five days (July 12-17) in the sweltering heat of a Kentucky summer. In their “spare time,” the
group also visited a local soup kitchen.

”We worked really well as a team,” Douglass said. “It changed our perspective a lot, it helped motivate us to work harder for the people who really needed our help.”

They made a quick impression and became local celebrities in Elizabethtown, as they were featured in an article in the News Enterprise of Elizabethtown before wrapping up their stay.

“At first I was a little nervous about the construction,” Coules said, “but the people there were very patient. I really enjoyed getting to see the hospitality people offered.”

Both girls say they plan to seek out similar opportunities in upcoming summers.

“Our group really got along well,” Coules said. ”I think it was awesome to bond over helping other people.

“I knew I was privileged before, but I really learned how lucky I am to live in a town like Lemont.”