 "Photo: Courtesy of Sumit Agrawal")
Teams of students interested in ending poverty will construct cardboard houses Saturday afternoon to generate awareness and to emphasize affordable housing for low-income families in Washington University's first annual "Wash. U. Build Challenge."
Student leaders from the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, along with representatives from the "One" campaign, a global antipoverty non-profit, and "What's Up" magazine, a local publication aimed at ending poverty, will sponsor the event, beginning at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Limited to cardboard and duct tape, teams of 10-15 students will have three hours to create model houses of all shapes and sizes to symbolically highlight Habitat's mission of providing homes to the city's underprivileged.
This competition kicks off the beginning of "Act! Speak! Build! Week," the group's annual weeklong awareness program that will feature a variety of events, including a movie night and letter-writing campaign.
"You don't see many students care about poverty," said sophomore Sumit Agarwal, president of the campus Habitat. "So we're trying to get them out there for fun, as a way to get them interested in poverty."
So far 15 teams made up of freshman floors and other student groups have signed up to build and learn about the services that Habitat provides to the community.
"I think it's a good opportunity for all of us to learn how to be involved with Habitat after we graduate," said junior Piyanka Ghosal, the corporate fundraising chair for the campus chapter.
Ghosal, who began volunteering with Habitat on weekends in the fall, added that the event also seeks to address the stereotypes that are commonly associated with homelessness.
"A lot of people think they know how poverty works," said Ghosal, "[Students] need to see why it's so hard to break that cycle."
According to sophomore Kristen Klempert, the group's fundraising chair, Saturday's event is meant to encapsulate all of Habitat's initiatives.
"The main goal isn't just for fundraising," said Klempert. "We're trying to cover all parts of our mission: the building, the advocacy, education and fundraising."
While the Build Challenge marks the student group's most public campus initiative, Habitat's yearly activities go beyond building cardboard houses. Students go on regular weekend service trips around the St. Louis area to help build affordable houses for low-income families.
Through fundraising and hands-on building, and in partnership with its larger St. Louis affiliate, the campus chapter of Habitat has helped to build one house each year in the area.
"I really enjoyed the building experience, and getting to meet the family that was going to live in the house," said Ghosal. "You got to work alongside the people who were benefiting from it and really see exactly the impact you were making."
Although the deadline to register teams has passed, students interested in assembling their own building team can sign up for the event on site or online. The registration fee is $7 per person.
"I think if people hear more about it, they'll get more involved," said Ghosal of the campus chapter.
For more information on "WashU Build Challenge," "Act! Speak! Build! Week" or any other volunteer opportunities, visit http://habitat.wustl.edu.
