Not only did the students have to build the shacks, two students had to stay with their group’s shack at all times and sleep in them Wednesday and Thursday nights as a condition of the fund-raiser. However, the rain and cold made sleeping outside Wednesday night unsafe, so everyone moved inside. “We had the Noble Room reserved {in nearby Hendricks Chapel}. We spent the night in there,” said Brian Spendley, co-executive director of the chapter. The next night was outside as planned.
The 12 shacks aren’t merely props for fund-raising; they will ultimately wind up as playhouses for children, and on Friday they were distributed around Syracuse. Half of the shacks were given to Ronald McDonald House, Baptist Campus Ministries at SU and other local organizations to give to people in need, said Spendley. “We’re donating the other half to Habitat for Humanity for families in the community,” he added.
Shack-A-Thon was also an opportunity for members of Habitat to raise awareness about local housing issues. Volunteers patrolled the borders of the temporary village all three days armed with flyers detailing statistics on Syracuse housing and were ready to answer questions from passers-by.
House party: The Syracuse University-SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of Habitat for Humanity held a shack-a-thon last week to call attention to the plight of poverty housing. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
The three-day Shack-A-Thon concluded Friday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m. with several speeches to the student volunteers on the steps of Hendricks Chapel. Among those speaking was Suzanne Williams, executive director of the Syracuse chapter of Habitat for Humanity. She closed the rally by dispelling some myths about Habitat. The individuals who receive homes from Habitat work on them, buy them and then pay an interest-free mortgage. “This is not a charity,” she stressed. She offered an open invitation, saying that, since Habitat builds for communities, “you are always welcome to come help build your house.”
—Paul Jivoff
