What better setting than a block party to announce the kickoff of a Build-A-Block project for Habitat for Humanity of Wake County?
Saturday evening at Packapalooza, the university’s annual community festival on Hillsborough Street, the Habitat for Humanity campus chapter at NC State and Habitat Wake announced plans for the largest partnership ever between a university and a Habitat affiliate.
Fundraising for the two-year project has begun and construction will start on the 11 townhomes located off Lake Wheeler Road in August 2016. Fundraising began at Packapalooza and Shack-a-thon, NC State’s annual student-led fundraiser for the campus chapter, will be the first major event to kick off the Build-A-Block project.
To build 11 homes at $65,000 each, the NC State chapter will need to raise $715,000 over the next two years to reach its goal.
“The past three years, our student Habitat chapter has set ambitious fundraising goals,” says Sarah Paluskiewicz, president of the NC State Habitat for Humanity chapter. “The NC State community is ready for Build-A-Block; the magnitude of the project will show the magnitude of compassion and hard work within the Wolfpack.”
Officials from the university, Habitat Wake and the NC State Habitat Chapter made the announcement before Saturday’s closing concert.
Build-A-Block expands upon Habitat Wake’s longstanding relationship with the student chapter and will provide unprecedented opportunities for volunteerism, financial support and fundraising. Through Build-A-Block, Wolfpack students, faculty, staff and members of the Triangle community will work alongside Wake County families to build the new homes.
“Recognizing that 28,000 families in Wake County have a need for housing Habitat for Humanity of Wake County has at the core of our strategy to grow to serve significantly more families,” says Kevin Campbell, president and chief executive officer of Habitat Wake. “Strong partnerships are needed to support this growth. NC State has been an exceptional partner in the past and the announcement of the 11 house Build-A-Block partnership is major step in this direction.”
Since 1996, NC State’s chapter has raised nearly $250,000, primarily through its Shack-A-Thon fundraiser.
In coming weeks, the Habitat Wake will host informational meetings to share ownership possibilities for those who meet Habitat’s criteria for housing. There will also be informational meetings for potential volunteers for the project.
“NC State has a strong partnership with Habitat Wake, led by our students and the campus chapter,” says NC State Associate Vice Provost for Student Leadership and Engagement Mike Giancola. “Affordable housing is an increasingly important issue for our community and expanding our partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County will allow us to more fully engage in the dialogue and the solutions with our neighbors.
“When the Wolfpack comes together in partnership with others, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.”
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