SANFORD — At a construction site on Poplar Street, about a dozen high schoolers are working to give a Sanford family a fresh start.

Students from Lee County High School, Southern Lee High School, Lee Early College and Bragg Street Academy began working in October to build a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath Habitat for Humanity home for Lorrie Cotton and her two sons.

Quinlan Henry, carpentry teacher at Lee County High School, and Gary Hart, carpentry teacher at Southern Lee High School, work with the students at the site.

Henry said the project is part of the class “Green” Construction 2, and students meet to work on the house Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and 8 a.m.-1 p.m Saturdays.

They hope to have the house completed in the summer, he said.

“It’s a hands-on opportunity to develop a skill or trade. Several (of the students) are in Carpentry 1 or 2 in high school,” Henry said. “There’s a few that have had no real previous experience with construction.”

The project is funded through a Golden LEAF Foundation grant, said Aaron Fleming at the Jan. 12 Lee County Board of Education meeting. Fleming said they tried to target at “at-risk” youth to work on the house; all of the students are juniors and seniors in high school.

“We try to get them involved in something they would like. Day-to-day math and English classes get a little boring for them,” Henry said. With the construction, “they can actually see it applied in the real world.”

The budget for the project is just under $98,000. The home’s HVAC system, windows, appliances and lighting will all meet government Energy Star standards, Fleming said.

Students will install a solar hot water heater and may also put in a solar panel, Henry said. They also want to make sure the house is “air-tight” and that the duct work is sealed: Proper ventilation is key.

“The biggest thing is the overall system itself, making sure it’s efficient,” he said.

Scrap materials also will be used whenever possible, Henry said, to reduce the amount of waste.

Like any Habitat home, the family receiving the home will put in some work, too, Fleming said.

When Cotton stopped by a few weeks ago to introduce herself, it helped the students understand what they’re working for, Henry said.

“It connected a little bit better with the students, I believe,” he said. “They’re doing something good for the community, so it puts that element into it.”

Cotton, who is currently living with one of her daughters, plans to live in the Poplar Street home with her 29-year-old son Kenneth Cotton Jr. and her 8-year-old son Tony Barrett Jr.

Kenneth is paralyzed from the chest down, she said, and his medical bills have made things tough for the family. Receiving the home is even more helpful for the family than the students realize, Cotton said.

“I’m really glad and anxious to get in the home. I’ve been through a lot these last five or six years. ... It’s just been kind of hard on us,” she said. “(The students) have been a real blessing. They just don’t know how much I thank them.”

Cotton said she plans to buy lunch for the high schoolers and get to know them personally.

“I really, really appreciate them and the work that they’re doing. I’m going to take them lunch over there and eventually get over there working with them, and get to know them,” she said.

The students’ dedication to the project is tested on weekends, when they must arrive at 8 a.m. on Saturdays to work. But Henry said he’s been impressed.

“They’ve showed up, and there’s been some cold mornings,” he said. “Even then, they’re still out here.”

The students said they enjoy the physical work and feeling like they’ve accomplished something.

“Ever since high school, I’ve started construction. I just like working hands on. It gives me something to do, also,” said 18-year-old Robert Young, a senior at LCHS. “We’re doing pretty good. Making a lot of progress. They said it would take awhile but it doesn’t seem like it.”

“I like it, I really do,” said Laurita Sotelo, 17, a senior at Southern Lee High School. “I’m learning stuff I never thought I would learn.”

Knowing the finished product will benefit those in need is a bonus, she said.

“It feels good because I’m helping a needy family and that makes me feel good about it,” Sotelo said.

And many said the Saturday mornings aren’t so bad.

“It’s like another school day. But it keeps me in line, so I won’t be sleeping all day,” Young said. “It ain’t so bad when you’re doing stuff you enjoy.”