If asked by their teachers how they spent their summer vacation when they return to class next month, a group of Dowagiac children will be able to proudly answer, “I helped build a new house.”

Over the last several weeks, a group of students and adult volunteers with local nonprofit group The Stepping Stone have poured their collective muscle into building a miniature 40-by-40-foot portable house. The structure will have space for a living room, kitchen area and a bedroom, and could be used as everything from a small vacation cabin to a hunter’s shack, said Ester Stanley, founder of The Stepping Stone and the person leading the construction effort.

“It’s built the same way as a normal house, but it’s a portable unit,” Stanley said.

Volunteers begin building the unit around a week after school ended, and are on pace to finish construction the week before school resumes in September, Stanley said.

Once the house is finished, members of The Stepping Stone will place it up for auction. The organization will use its share of the proceeds to cover the cost of building materials, and will use the remaining money to fund its operations, including its afterschool program, which provides free instruction and tutoring to local students throughout the school year.

The unit is comprised of four 10-by-10-foot sheds, which are joined firmly together by clamps below the building’s ceiling. Due to its modular nature, the house can be spilt into separate units again, which will make it easier to transport, Stanley said.

A local entrepreneur worked with The Stepping Stone to design the building. After establishing a line of credit with Judd Lumber Company for building materials, Stanley and around 20 other volunteers went to work to build the house from the ground-up.

Many of the helpers are local students. Through the building process, they developed their math and mechanical skills, as well as learned important life lessons such as the importance of punctuality and how to work with others in a team, Stanley said.

“These children are the future, so we have to give them a chance to learn new skills,” she said.

Stanley said that The Stepping Stone will consider building additional small houses in the future, which will continue to help fund the organization’s mission of helping others, young and old, to realize their full potential.

“If you’re interested in purchasing this nice little unit, make sure you bid on it,” she said. “You will be helping out the community — and a lot of kids.”

For more information people may contact The Stepping Stone at (269) 782-8934 or visit thesteppingstoneback2basics.com.