BOONE, N.C. — Mountaineers continue to make an impact in the community.
In late June, Appalachian State assistant head coach
Mark Ivey was in attendance as the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity dedicated the new home for James and Isabelle Love's family, which includes six children. Members of App State's football team, including many of Ivey's defensive linemen, helped complete construction on the home in the Greenwood neighborhood by volunteering to work on the first four Saturdays in June.
"It was great to help folks who are in need of a home," Ivey said. "You're helping somebody get their dream home, but in turn, as I watched our players work, it's maybe just as productive for them learning to do things for other people and enjoying the construction end of learning to do something they've never done before."
Ivey, who had participated previously in a Habitat for Humanity project when he was a high school coach in Florida, sought out volunteers last month after communicating with Allison Jennings, the resource development director of the Watauga County chapter.
There are plans to build 20 homes in the Greenwood neighborhood, and the Love family's home was the fifth one finished. Construction on that house began in March 2017, continued with twice-a-week work from volunteers and concluded last month with assistance from App State football players representing every position group on the team.
"It meant a lot to have the football team join us," Jennings said. "To have them come back week after week showed great commitment. They were instrumental in helping that project become complete."
Given the overall workload and delegation of responsibilities, a maximum of 10 players were needed each Saturday. Because of his interest in both the cause and construction, redshirt freshman offensive lineman
Joe Hartung worked the first weekend and expressed a strong desire to help each of the remaining three.
This month, he hopes to help each Wednesday and Saturday with the construction of another Habitat for Humanity home.
"It's a special organization doing a lot of good things for people and their communities," Ivey said.
With the combination of lighter class schedules and preseason workouts that are occurring two months ahead of App State's opening game at Penn State, the summer is an ideal time for members of the football team to volunteer.
Their enthusiasm and sense of purpose stood out to both Ivey and Jennings.
"I think they learned a lot from it, and there's a lot more to life than football," Ivey said. "Now, football is really important to us. We all love it — I love it, the kids love it and you wouldn't put the time into it that we do if you didn't love it — but beyond football, there's people, and I think it's great to start learning that by projects like Habitat for Humanity."
