DUNBAR, W.Va. -- A group of West Virginia State University basketball players skipped sleeping in Saturday to lend a hand for a Habitat for Humanity project.

Six players with WVSU's Yellow Jackets started work at 8 a.m. to paint the interior of a Dunbar house for the nonprofit organization.

The players were rounded up to help out by their coaches, and through NYANSA, a leadership program at WVSU. "Nyansa" is the Ghanaian word for wisdom and knowledge.

"It's always nice to give back," said Fred Harris, a junior at WVSU.

"And chill with the fellas and teammates," said Justin Banks, also a junior.

For some of the players, Saturday's project was their first experience volunteering, and all agreed it would not be their last.

"It's a good way to show the community that we do more things than just play basketball, and that WVSU cares," Harris said.

Volunteers and officials with Habitat for Humanity have been working on the 1,000-square-foot home on Westmoreland Drive in Dunbar since January.

Lavern Childers, who is overseeing the project, said he expects construction on the three-bedroom home to be complete by the end of the month.

"It's hard to set a date because it all depends on how many people come out," Childers said.

The one-story house was built from scratch by volunteer labor, and construction of the house has been particularly challenging because it sits on the side of a hill, he said.

"When on a hill, we use a lot of scaffolding and ladders," he said. "A lot of people don't like heights, so some days you get people who can climb a ladder and some days you don't."

Habitat for Humanity builds about eight to 10 homes a year in Kanawha Valley, he said.

"We have a lot of different groups from churches, high schools and companies who come out every Saturday," Childers said.

Several volunteers from various churches and organizations also lend a hand during the week, he said.

A family has already been assigned the home. As part of the agreement with Habitat for Humanity, they will volunteer 500 hours toward the construction of their home and another one in the area.

The family will buy the house from Habitat for Humanity when construction is complete, with a no-interest, 20-year loan, Childers said. The money received from payments on the house will help build another one. 

The WVSU basketball players spent most of the morning moving supplies and painting the interior of the house.

They all agreed it was less work than they had anticipated, but were happy to help in any way they could.

They also said they would like to see more sports teams at WVSU get involved.

For more information about Habitat for Humanity, call 304-720-0141.

@tag:Reach Veronica Nett at veronican@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.