The Cherry Hill High School East Habitat for Humanity club hosted their annual gingerbread building event on Saturday, December 17. The event raises money and awareness for the club. The gingerbread houses act symbolize a toy replica of the real structures that Habitat for Humanity works hard to build. Club members were told to try and bring adults, children and other East students to the holiday fun.

Gingerbread kits were sold for ten dollars at the front entrance. After purchasing their kit, community members got to work. A table at the front provided the gingerbread builders with utensils, hard candies, napkins and more.

A contest took place at the end of the afternoon. Each participant’s gingerbread house was photographed. After the picture was taken, participants then gave their phone numbers to the event organizers in hope of receiving a call, informing them they had won.
There was also a shoe drive going on, run by one of the club presidents, Justin Liebman (‘18). Anyone who came to the event could donate used or new shoes of all sizes for Liebman’s charity, Karing 4 Kicks. His non-profit organization collects shoes for children who can not afford them. Karing 4 Kicks received an abundance of donations to be shipped to Haiti.

To top it all off, members of the club had baked treats and created crafts to sell at the event. The bake sale included cookies, brownies and other baked goods for the community to devour. Habitat for Humanity members also worked hard at craft building sessions to create decorated Mason jars, Christmas ornaments and picture frames.
One craft-builder shared her thoughts amidst the holiday fun.
“It’s very important for our whole community to come together during this holiday season,” said Nicole Arzylowicz (‘19).

Arzylowicz said it was quite entertaining to put her own creative spin on the standard gingerbread house. Many of the younger builders were also eager to decorate. The majority of the gingerbread builders were young children.
All of the proceeds from this event went to Habitat for Humanity. The money will fund things such as their spring break build. This year, the club members will travel to Birmingham, Alabama for the much awaited build. The main focus of the trip will be to build houses in rural areas of Alabama.

Habitat for Humanity can always use an extra set of hands. To get involved, head over to @CHEHabitat_ on Instagram for updates on their next event.