Collegiate Challenge: what you need to know

Collegiate Challenge: what you need to know

Age restrictions
As a nationwide program, Collegiate Challenge must comply with federal labor laws. These laws state that participants must be at least 16 years of age to perform construction work, and volunteers 16 and 17 years of age may not operate power tools or work more than six feet off the ground. To register a group for Collegiate Challenge, each student must be 16 by the first day of the trip. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

All high-school-age groups are required to have at least one adult (25 years of age or older) for every five students. Some build sites require a higher ratio of adults. Please check the site lists for specific requirements.

Group size limitations
Groups of five or more people may participate in Collegiate Challenge. A group does not have to be an official club or organization—it can just be a group of friends. At this time, there are no opportunities for individuals to participate in Collegiate Challenge. Consider forming a team with your school, church, affiliate, Youth United group or club!

Costs involved

  • Program fee
    A $20 per person non-refundable program fee is due within 10 business days of registration. This fee covers supplemental medical insurance and program costs. This check should be made payable to Habitat for Humanity International and mailed to the Collegiate Challenge program team:
    Collegiate Challenge
    Habitat for Humanity International
    121 Habitat St.
    Americus, GA 31709-3498
  • Affiliate contribution
    This amount is paid to the affiliate host site so they can purchase building materials and if necessary, pay for accommodations. It ranges from $10 per person to $200 per person. Most sites ask for $125 per person for the week. See the site lists for details.
  • Transportation
    Groups are responsible for all transportation arrangements and costs. Even if your group is flying to the site, rented vehicles will be needed to transport the group throughout the week. Please note: Collegiate Challenge supplemental insurance does not cover participants as they travel to and from their Collegiate Challenge host affiliate site. Please take this into consideration when arranging transportation.
  • Food
    Groups are responsible for providing their own food. We recommend budgeting $6 to $10 per person per day for food if you will be preparing your own meals. All Collegiate Challenge accommodations will include a place for participants to prepare meals. Extra costs should be added if you plan to eat at restaurants.


Housing
Collegiate Challenge host sites will provide your group with a safe place to sleep, shower and prepare meals at no additional cost. Sleeping arrangements are usually on a church floor or in a volunteer center, so a sleeping bag is necessary. Shower and kitchen facilities may be located in a separate location from your sleeping arrangements.

Weekly schedule
Collegiate Challenge participants arrive at their host affiliate on Sunday afternoon and depart the following Saturday morning. Most affiliates work either Monday through Friday or Tuesday through Saturday. Students should expect to work from approximately 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on these days. Projects may include improving existing housing structures, helping build a house or volunteering on other projects that help meet the goals of Habitat for Humanity in the community. While some affiliates may plan an evening activity for your group—such as a dinner with a Habitat partner family—for the most part, you can expect your evenings to be free to use as your group desires.

Insurance coverage
Part of the $20 program fee is applied to supplemental accidental medical insurance. This policy will pay the deductible of an individual's own insurance, as well as any costs exceeding his or her insurance limit, up to $250,000. If a participant does not have personal health insurance, he or she will be covered up to $250,000. This insurance covers all participants who have an accident while participating in group activities, including building on site and group-sponsored evening activities. Coverage begins when a group checks in with their host affiliate and ends when they leave. Participants are not covered if under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Note: This is a reimbursement policy. Participants should be prepared to pay for all medical care at the time of treatment. All covered expenses will be reimbursed to the participant once the proper claim forms have been submitted.

Cancellation policy
After you have registered, you are asked to confirm your trip by submitting a confirmation form and paying the required program fee. Host affiliates make building and housing plans based on the number of participants that you confirm for. When you confirm your trip, you are committing to pay the total financial contribution to the affiliate based on the number of participants registered. In the event that the number of participants decreases or if you should cancel the trip after confirmation, your group is still responsible for paying the full affiliate contribution. Please be aware that canceling a trip may negatively impact the affiliate's building schedule.

Please note: If your group has not confirmed your trip within 10 business days after registration, the trip will automatically be cancelled, and those spaces will be reopened to other student groups. If you know that you need to cancel your registration, please contact the Collegiate Challenge staff to let them know your plans have changed.

Early-bird registration
Early-bird registration for Collegiate Challenge Spring Break is available to campus chapters that

  • Have submitted their annual reports by the designated date. (Chapters will be notified of the deadline in the end-of-the-year mailing in April.)
  • Have fully completed and submitted the required confirmation, insurance validation and release and waiver forms for any and all Collegiate Challenge trips during the previous year.


View the 2009 early-bird eligible chapters. Early-bird registration begins October 12, 2009; open registration begins October 14, 2009.