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Habitat for Humanity's Shack-a-Thon spreads awareness for homelessness
By Ben Tepfer
Posted: 10/6/08, 12:24 AM EST Section: Feature
Brian Spendley, president of the SU/ESF chapter of Habitat for Humanity and one of the Shack-A-Thon leaders, said he had two goals for the event: to raise awareness about poverty and to raise money to build a new house at 619 Tully St. Spendley said he heard some controversy about why Habitat for Humanity is working to build a new house rather than refurbish an existing one.
"The costs are more effective to start something from scratch than it is to go into a 1900s house and revamp it," Spendley said. "Building a new house also gives people a sense of pride; they are homeowners of a brand new house for the first time. It makes sense financially, but it also makes sense for the families."
Spendley said Habitat for Humanity needs $60,000 to finish construction on the Tully Street house.
While the rain poured on the Quad, Hendricks Chapel filled with organ music as it hosted 26 poster-size images from the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. One showed a young Guatemalan boy holding the doorknob of his family's brand new house. Another portrayed smiling volunteers erecting walls in a damaged Louisiana home.
The goal of the exhibit was to make people even more aware of what Habitat for Humanity is doing to fight homelessness around the world.
Back on the Quad, students handed out fliers explaining the importance of ending substandard housing. Jacob Bartholomew, a cultural foundations of education graduate student, said he hopes students will remember poverty issues in this year's election.
"Affordable housing for people is something that always gets swept under the rug and unnoticed," Bartholomew said. "That's why this campaign for Habitat for Humanity is so important."
Williams agrees students should be in direct contact with government officials.
"Students should remember to keep poverty housing on their mind," Williams said. "They should contact members of the government and tell them to abolish substandard housing around the world and especially here in Syracuse. The government can spend millions of dollars on war, but we can end poverty housing today with just a portion of that money."
By 5 p.m. on Friday, only half of the shacks remained on the Quad. The rest were transported to families around the Syracuse area. While some of the shacks left imprints in the damp grass, Spendley said he hopes the Shack-A-Thon leaves a lasting impression on both SU students and members of the local community.
bstepfer@syr.edu
"The costs are more effective to start something from scratch than it is to go into a 1900s house and revamp it," Spendley said. "Building a new house also gives people a sense of pride; they are homeowners of a brand new house for the first time. It makes sense financially, but it also makes sense for the families."
Spendley said Habitat for Humanity needs $60,000 to finish construction on the Tully Street house.
While the rain poured on the Quad, Hendricks Chapel filled with organ music as it hosted 26 poster-size images from the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. One showed a young Guatemalan boy holding the doorknob of his family's brand new house. Another portrayed smiling volunteers erecting walls in a damaged Louisiana home.
The goal of the exhibit was to make people even more aware of what Habitat for Humanity is doing to fight homelessness around the world.
Back on the Quad, students handed out fliers explaining the importance of ending substandard housing. Jacob Bartholomew, a cultural foundations of education graduate student, said he hopes students will remember poverty issues in this year's election.
"Affordable housing for people is something that always gets swept under the rug and unnoticed," Bartholomew said. "That's why this campaign for Habitat for Humanity is so important."
Williams agrees students should be in direct contact with government officials.
"Students should remember to keep poverty housing on their mind," Williams said. "They should contact members of the government and tell them to abolish substandard housing around the world and especially here in Syracuse. The government can spend millions of dollars on war, but we can end poverty housing today with just a portion of that money."
By 5 p.m. on Friday, only half of the shacks remained on the Quad. The rest were transported to families around the Syracuse area. While some of the shacks left imprints in the damp grass, Spendley said he hopes the Shack-A-Thon leaves a lasting impression on both SU students and members of the local community.
bstepfer@syr.edu
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