OU Habitat for Humanity will start its first year as an active organization on campus by raising awareness about poverty housing conditions with a Shack-a-Thon fund-raiser.
Student organizations and groups of volunteers will create shacks that reflect poverty housing using items they find in dumpsites and landfills during the two-day fund-raiser, said Nathan Corbett, president of OU Habitat for Humanity.
"The groups will begin building their shacks in the South Oval at 8 a.m. on Thursday, and student body voting will start at noon," Corbett said. "The voting will cease on Friday, Sept. 26, at 2 p.m."
Groups will put buckets outside of their shacks, and the student body will be able to vote for its favorite shack by placing donations in the buckets, said Stephanie Huey, vice president of OU Habitat for Humanity.
"Votes may also be negated by placing donations in the 'negate' bucket outside of each shack," Huey said.
Each group will spend Thursday night in its shack. Amenities such as security and bathrooms will be provided, but the event will not be called off if it rains, Corbett said.
"It is important to remember while we're only living in the shack one night, some people spend their entire lives in similar conditions," said Kim Tompkins, biochemistry and pre-med junior and Habitat member.
Each group will be required to have at least one person in its shack at all times during the day and two people throughout the evening, Corbett said.
"We are, though, encouraging students to still attend their classes during the event," Corbett said.
All the money raised during the Shack-a-Thon and other fund-raisers throughout the year will go toward the building of a new house for a Norman family in need this spring, Huey said.
"Members of OU Habitat for Humanity will be involved in both the raising of funds to build the house and in the actual construction of the house this spring," Corbett said.
The goal of this fund-raiser is to raise money and awareness about poverty housing, Huey said. Students who walk by the South Oval during the event will get a chance to see the housing conditions some people live in.
"Living in suburbia life, most people don't realize on a day-to-day basis that there are others who live in poverty-stricken housing every day," Tompkins said.
The event will end with an awards ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday on the South Oval, where winners in categories such as most money raised, most creative, most votes and others will be awarded with golden hammers, Huey said.
hello there & you too