When Jackson Middle School art teacher Tara Challenger decided to go on a weeklong house-building trip in Los Angeles for Habitat for Humanity, she knew she wanted to bring her students with her in some way. Knowing that she would be working on a “Jimmy Carter Project,” a Habitat build where the former president would be making an appearance, she wanted to see if her students were interested in painting a mural about the organization.

“I talked to them about what Habitat for Humanity was,” Challenger said. “We watched a video and a DVD. I wanted to bring them with me on the build. I had this vision of taking a gift to present to Habitat and the Carters.”

More than a dozen students volunteered to work on the mural after school in October — Challenger’s trip to L.A. was at the end of the month.

“We started by drawing out a bunch of sketches, different ideas,” she said. “They came several days a week; they really gave their input.”

Challenger left for L.A. with only a vague plan for getting Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, to see the students’ finished work — a large acrylic on canvas mural.

“I had no idea how this was going to happen,” Challenger said.

But through prayer and with boundless enthusiasm, she was determined to make it happen. The chain of events that led to the Carters posing with Challenger and the mural started with a co-worker’s friend who knew Amy Carter’s husband and had attended their recent wedding. The co-worker’s friend e-mailed the husband, who forwarded the e-mail to his wife, who forwarded it to her father — Jimmy Carter — all while on their honeymoon. The reply to Challenger, sent back through the chain of people, was that the Carters were interested in seeing the mural.

“I took that e-mail out to L.A. with me,” Challenger said. “I started talking to anybody I could: ‘Hi, I’m a teacher from the Chicagoland area. My students have painted this beautiful mural. I want to give it to the Carters.’”

She wound up talking to the right people, including the professional photographers traveling with the former president and Rosalynn Carter while she was eating breakfast at the build, and a time was set up for a photograph to be taken.

“I got to meet President Carter,” Challenger said. “I had a hand-written letter expressing my thanks.”

The actual moment was brief, but she said it was wonderful.

“They liked it,” she said. “You could see the expression on their faces.”

The students think it’s wonderful, too.

“It’s kind of cool knowing that a former president of the United States was looking at something you did with your own hands,” said 14-year-old Sabrena Manherz. “It’s just really cool to know that.”

Hearing that the Carters liked it — just last week Challenger received an e-mail fromRosalynn Carter’s office asking for her address so the former first lady can send her a note — validated 12-year-old Autumn Sneed’s interest in art.

“Most of my family is in music,” the sixth-grader said. “This is my first time in an art program. It felt really good to know the Carters felt good about what we did. It was like, ‘Wow. I really did a good job and was helpful with what we did.’”

The mural will be sent to the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Challenger is proud of her students.

“They were really dedicated,” she said.

She hopes they learned something about Habitat for Humanity and giving to others.

“What I really tried to do here was show them how special volunteering is,” she said, “how good you feel by helping others.”