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Meet Charlee: An intern making an impact
Here at Habitat, our work goes far beyond just construction sites and the ReStore. What makes us unique, then? Our affiliate has dedicated sustainability staff, expanding our services to create a bigger impact throughout our five-county service region.
Student interns help make this impact possible. This summer, we were delighted to welcome Charlee to the team.
Meet Charlee
Charlee grew up in the La Crosse area and is now entering her junior year at the University of Minnesota. Committed to community and sustainability, Charlee is majoring in environmental studies and minoring in education. While back in La Crosse for summer breaks, Charlee has gotten involved in a variety of local eco-friendly projects.
Last summer, Charlee was one of about twenty grant awardees from the Sustainability Institute's Youth Climate Action Fund. In her 2025 internship with GROW, a non-profit connecting youth with healthy food and nature, Charlee used the funds to revitalize the gardens at North Woods Elementary.
That fall, she noticed that Habitat was seeking an intern to support sustainability projects in the Washburn Neighborhood. We were excited to have her join our team.
Charlee spent this past summer supporting the wide range of projects in Washburn. Our work includes the rehab of a historic home and the revival of the Washburn Gardens. Charlee helped us with the behind-the-scenes set-up before publicly launching garden plot reservations and volunteer days.
Preparing for Washburn
When Charlee first chatted with our Sustainability Director Amy in June 2026, she had no idea Habitat was engaged in this type of work. We know that building affordable housing is an important piece of the puzzle, but our organization's mission statement also emphasizes creating a community where all feel they belong.
Healthy, sustainable communities call for critical home repairs along with best management practices like stormwater mitigation and diverting material from the landfill by ReClaiming buildings prior to demolition or renovation.
Although we haven't started breaking ground yet, Charlee helped develop a webpage where those in the Washburn neighborhood could reserve their garden plot and submit payment. She also joined Amy in meetings with partners such as Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions and Coulee Region Ecoscapes.
Seeing the "collaboration, coordination, and communication that goes into making a project successful" was one of Charlee's biggest takeaways. Charlee hopes to travel out of state after graduation, working in either sustainability or conservation. She learned from Habitat that it is always good to try something new!
Get involved
Interested in supporting Habitat's work?
There are many opportunities to volunteer with Habitat outside of a ReStore or construction shift. For example, did you know we have an advocacy committee(opens in new tab)? Habitat is committed to equity and driven to innovate; as you've seen, sustainable practices are embedded in all of our programs.
Partner Family
Stories
Darshida has been working to become a homeowner for years. She is a passionate nurse, a dedicated mother to four boys, and a longtime La Crosse resident. After years of hard work and unforeseen obstacles, Darshida and her family moved into their new home in spring 2023.