Day 2 of Alumni Weekend at FrogHouse

Saturday was Day 2 of the Fort Worth alumni chapter's weekend at FrogHouse. More than 25 alums were out helping the junior class, who heads up the annual effort through Habitat for Humanity, and other members of the TCU community. The day's tasks: painting concrete composition siding and nailing it onto the house.

"From an alumni perspective, this is such a rewarding experience because everyone is contributing in whatever way they can," said Susan McInnis '67, chapter president. "We have some people who are very skilled and can do the technical work. Some people are doing smaller tasks like painting and carrying materials. Then we have Sue Parrish '62 and her family who brought lunch."

Fried catfish, fries, hush puppies and purple cole slaw, to be exact. Good eats for a good cause. The weekend is the chapter's annual service project.

"It feels good to be a part of a worthwhile effort like this and working on it together," said Mike Sullivan '90, a former two-time All-Southwest Conference offensive lineman for the Frogs, who brought a team of 10 former Frog lettermen to help. "That sense of teamwork never goes away for us."

Ex-athletes from football, basketball, swimming and diving were among Sullivan's group.

Construction on the three-bedroom, two-bath house, measuring 1,485 square feet, began Feb. 13 and will be finished by Apr. 25. But plans for the house began long before then. The junior class began fundraising for construction through raffles, letter writing and solicitations, said class rep Alex Pierce, an entrepreneurial management major from Decatur.

"I like to make an immediate difference and am excited to get to see the new homeowner's face when they hand her the keys," Pierce said. "We'll get to physically see the difference we're making."

That future homeowner is Alice Villegas, who wants to add room for her large extended family. "I cannot wait to live in my house and enjoy it with my family, especially Thanksgivings, Christmases and birthdays," said Villegas, who works at the Southwst Fort Worth Regional Library.

"We all be together, but we won't be overcrowded," she said. "It'll be home."