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Habitat for Humanity starts new programs |
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Thursday, 05 April 2007 |
by JAMISON DORAN
News Reporter
Appalachian State University’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity has begun a new project to show the organization is about more than just building houses.
“We had talked about starting an adopt-a-family program in Boone, and I decided to volunteer the Appalachian students,” Phil Hull, an industrial technology graduate student and a member of Habitat for Humanity, said.
The adopt-a-family program was created to help families with the upkeep
of their Habitat houses if they are unable to do so on their own.
We found three families who had needs and five members of our chapter have currently adopted them, Hull said.
Ideally, Hull would like to get all the families in the area who have had houses built with them to join the program.
“We would love to get all 18 families involved and be able to have 36 students assigned to them – two for each family,” he said.
Right now, students are getting to know the families, and there is hope
that there will be a continual relationship between the students and
the families, Hull said.
It has been important for Appalachian’s chapter to find other ways than just building houses to help the community.
“It is easy to buy land in most areas, but not here. In 19 years, 19
houses have been built,” Chad Everhart, assistant technology professor
and faculty advisor for Habitat for Humanity, said.
Land in Boone is expensive, so it is important that Habitat for Humanity finds alternative ways to help the community, he said.
In the next month, Habitat will start building a new house and are hoping to get students interested in helping.
“We’d like to see some more interest in the group, and we’ve started doing some really fun and interesting things,” Hull said.
This was the first year Appalachian participated in the Collegiate
Challenge, which is hosted by the national Habitat for Humanity
organization.
According to habitat.org, the Collegiate Challenge is a year-round
alternative break program that provides opportunities for students in
college and other organizations to spend a week of their break building
houses with a Habitat affiliate.
Over Winter Break, Appalachian’s Habitat went to Florida for a week and
then over Spring Break traveled to Bloomington, Ind., Hull said.
“In Indiana we got to work alongside with the family, which was something new and a really neat experience,” he said.
If students are interested in getting more information about Habitat
for Humanity, the group meets Monday nights at 6 p.m. in Kerr Scott
Hall.
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