Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMore than 200 students turn out for Habitat's annual Shack-A-Thon
By Loren Fultonberg
Posted: 10/12/09, 3:07 AM EST Section: News
After three days huddled in six-by-eight feet wooden shacks, Syracuse University students tore down the small structures Thursday that they had resided in since Tuesday.
More than 200 students took part in Shack-A-Thon last week to raise awareness for affordable housing and money for the SU/State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
"It makes you appreciate those who don't have homes," said Katherine Connolly, a Shack-A-Thon participant and a sophomore advertising major. "The first thing I thought when I came in was, 'Wow, can you imagine living here?'"
Habitat raised more than $12,000, and attendance also grew from last year, said Zachary Balmuth-Loris, the event's organizer and a junior biomedical engineering major. This was the second Shack-A-Thon held at SU.
The money raised will go toward building a house for a low-income family in Syracuse. Habitat finished its first house last April. The recipient of that house, Sukema Cook, addressed participants at a press conference Thursday that ended the three-day event. Even with the Shack-A-Thon money, Habitat still needs to raise about $45,000 to build the second house. Habitat has several fundraisers planned to achieve this goal.
Groups stapled sheets of paper to their shacks detailing facts about housing and poverty problems in Syracuse. One sign said that the median SU tuition is about $5,000 more than the average income in Syracuse.
"This is what people have to deal with when they don't have the best housing," said Chris Ostrom, a junior environmental science major. "People that don't have any housing at all have to find places to stay. It's real life. This is really how it is for people."
The shacks included a roof, window and door opening. Each of the organizations decorated their shack differently - some painted them, some put up posters, one group even constructed a mailbox.
The wood from the disassembled shacks will be donated to Youth United, a group that mentors high school students interested in Habitat. Youth United will reconstruct the shacks and auction them off as playhouses to raise money for Habitat.
They're the "shacks that keep on giving," Balmuth-Loris said.
To pass the time in the shacks, students did homework, played their guitars and participated in a variety of activities. Some were planned, others spontaneous. SU student dance group DanceWorks led a 20-minute stretching routine, not unlike the ones that they do before a performance. A game of ultimate frisbee even broke out, despite the rain and the darkness.
Habitat also hosted a benefit concert. The three-hour concert, which featured reggae group Akuma Roots and local band Sophistafunk, was held in Hendricks Chapel Tuesday night and raised almost $200.
"There was a lot more bonding, which I liked, because last year no one really bonded," Balmuth-Loris said. "They all just sat in their shacks. But this year everybody from every organization is just hanging out a lot more."
lefulton@syr.edu
More than 200 students took part in Shack-A-Thon last week to raise awareness for affordable housing and money for the SU/State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
"It makes you appreciate those who don't have homes," said Katherine Connolly, a Shack-A-Thon participant and a sophomore advertising major. "The first thing I thought when I came in was, 'Wow, can you imagine living here?'"
Habitat raised more than $12,000, and attendance also grew from last year, said Zachary Balmuth-Loris, the event's organizer and a junior biomedical engineering major. This was the second Shack-A-Thon held at SU.
The money raised will go toward building a house for a low-income family in Syracuse. Habitat finished its first house last April. The recipient of that house, Sukema Cook, addressed participants at a press conference Thursday that ended the three-day event. Even with the Shack-A-Thon money, Habitat still needs to raise about $45,000 to build the second house. Habitat has several fundraisers planned to achieve this goal.
Groups stapled sheets of paper to their shacks detailing facts about housing and poverty problems in Syracuse. One sign said that the median SU tuition is about $5,000 more than the average income in Syracuse.
"This is what people have to deal with when they don't have the best housing," said Chris Ostrom, a junior environmental science major. "People that don't have any housing at all have to find places to stay. It's real life. This is really how it is for people."
The shacks included a roof, window and door opening. Each of the organizations decorated their shack differently - some painted them, some put up posters, one group even constructed a mailbox.
The wood from the disassembled shacks will be donated to Youth United, a group that mentors high school students interested in Habitat. Youth United will reconstruct the shacks and auction them off as playhouses to raise money for Habitat.
They're the "shacks that keep on giving," Balmuth-Loris said.
To pass the time in the shacks, students did homework, played their guitars and participated in a variety of activities. Some were planned, others spontaneous. SU student dance group DanceWorks led a 20-minute stretching routine, not unlike the ones that they do before a performance. A game of ultimate frisbee even broke out, despite the rain and the darkness.
Habitat also hosted a benefit concert. The three-hour concert, which featured reggae group Akuma Roots and local band Sophistafunk, was held in Hendricks Chapel Tuesday night and raised almost $200.
"There was a lot more bonding, which I liked, because last year no one really bonded," Balmuth-Loris said. "They all just sat in their shacks. But this year everybody from every organization is just hanging out a lot more."
lefulton@syr.edu
Be the first to comment on this story