A cooperation between Skagit Habitat for Humanity, the Downtown Business Association, Perkins Farms, a local concert venue, as well as our own Career Technical Education (CTE) program at Sedro-Woolley High School plans to do some impressive things around town. This collaboration is called Project Hometown.

  Project Hometown is a new addition to the CTE curriculum this year, and is the brainchild of Sedro-Woolley digicom and economics teacher Jodi Jorgensen and CTE Director Jerry Grisham. They have a very simple mission statement: “Project Hometown is bringing together local businesses, SWHS CTE programs, and community members to help families and others in need. Therefore, creating a stronger community.”

  Possibly the most relevant of the projects is the collaboration between Habitat for Humanity, which is working with the Geometry in Construction (GIC) class to build two houses to the west of the football field on Batey Street, one of which is going to Sedro-Woolley alumni. According to Dan Caldwell, who teaches the construction half of the GIC class, says that even though the students haven’t began work on the houses the city has finished installing sewer and other utilities, so construction will likely begin soon.

   “There’s been a lot of talk of working on the houses and it hasn’t happened yet, so I think everybody is anxious to actually get started and excited for it,” said Caldwell.

  Currently some of the CTE programs involved include GIC, Marketing, Agriculture, and Landscaping, which is going to be sending crews to the construction site to clear brush so the foundation can be poured and work can be done.

   The Marketing class is split into three equally sized groups, each of which working on advertising materials for a specific organization, as well as a different special event for each group.

   “Right now we’re working with the Downtown Business Association to put in a park where the video store burned down,” said Sarah Batterman, a sophmore working with the Downtown Business Association.

    Batterman also worked on the logo for the program, a blue orange and green visual representation of all four involved parties to be used in all releases done by anyone involved.

    The Perkins Farms group has planned a fundraiser dinner and concert t the Eagle haven Winery featuring local ‘folkish’ band on Jan. 19 from 6 to 9 at the . The Penny Stinkers, counting such members as Jeff Slough, SWHS technology specialist.

   “We’re trying to show the community that they’ve made a sound investment, because oftentimes youth is dismissed,” said Grisham.

      In a small sample group, only 10 percent of people even knew the GIC class existed, and none of them had heard of Project Hometown, although all of them knew of Habitat for Humanity.

      Each of the events is still in the planning stage, and the park is being designed, but there’s been activity on social media by all four involved parties sharing information, dates and prices.    

   Everyone has been doing their best to make sure the end results are as memorable as possible.  “It seems to me like if there’s any catch to everything these people are doing, I can’t seem to find it,” said Batterman.