All that fundraising paid off for Austin High School students.

National Honors Society students donated $2,114 to Habitat for Humanity of Freeborn/Mower counties after raising the money in about five hours last month through their annual homeless fundraiser.

“We were really happy about that,” said Hugh Alvorson, program coordinator for HFH.

The donation marks the fifth year NHS students have raised money for the local HFH chapter as well as the most money raised yet.

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

This annual NHS rite of passage usually means students gather donations for as long and as late as possible outside of AHS. 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. Although none of the students spent the night outside AHS due to the weather, they all knew how important it was to raise money for the homeless.

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 this year, 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. They worked from 6 to 11 p.m., getting as many donations off the street as they could.