At 6 p.m. Friday night, teenagers were raising money for a cause.

As cars pulled up to the intersection at Oakland Avenue West and Fourth Street Northwest, Austin High School students like Mary Kate Barinka, Caitlin Lura and Nina Carney hold signs and banners asking for money for Habitat for Humanity housing. These National Honor Society seniors watch as people stick out money from their cars, waiting for a teen with a bucket of change to come over and add to the pile.

NHS students once again learned the value of helping the homeless Friday, as they raised $2,109, beating last year’s total of about $1,850.

“We’re just trying to raise awareness for those people who don’t have homes,” said AHS senior Zach Fadness.

This annual NHS rite of passage usually means students gather donations for as long and as late as possible. These students often end the night by sleeping in cardboard boxes until 6 a.m. Saturday, realizing firsthand what the people they’re trying to help experience daily.

“It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world,” Luna said of her experience last year. “It was open to the outside and the walls caved in occasionally.”

That’s why NHS students worked so hard to raise money for the local Habitat for Humanity group, which is putting up one house in Austin this year. Students were stationed all along Fourth Street near the high school, holding signs and cheering whenever someone would honk. People from all walks of life, from mechanics to church leaders rolled down their windows to donate.

NHS President Michael Lindahl brought out a sound system and microphone, the first time loudspeakers have been used at the annual fundraiser. He cajoled people to give for a good cause, his voice echoing for blocks around. Despite expectations, police never stopped the teens from using the sound system throughout the night.

“(People) can’t ignore a voice that’s just outside their cars,” Lindahl said.

Close to the high school’s west doors, AHS juniors Amanda Majerus, Sydney Reuter and Gabe Ramirez were busy hitting up people attending the dance show as well as “The Craving,” AHS’s spring play. They hadn’t slept outside before, but were looking forward to the experience so they could know what it felt like.

“People have tough times and they need a home,” Ramirez said. “You need to help other people out.”

By 11 p.m., it was apparent no one would sleep outside this year. It had rained intermittently, and the cardboard homes built by AHS senior Nathan Weisert weren’t holding up well. Yet students managed to raise more than $2,000 in spare change and donations in less than five hours’ time.

“This was all off the street,” said NHS adviser Sharon Alms.