University of South Carolina Libraries
... ^ - ........ ; m : r " * * , . j. ' * "S3 Local college By Rosalind Harvey \ staff writer c It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon v and several USC students are work- v ing without pay on a construction site. t Many students from USC have volunteered their time to help build c houses for Habitat for Humanitv. ? Habitat is a non-profit organization that helps families in need. v Habitat was founded in San ^ Antonio, Texas, in 1976 by Millard v and Linda Fuller. Their mission is to ^ eliminate poverty housing and end 3 homelessness. t According to a fact sheet distributed by Habitat for Humanity, ^ "Habitat invites people from all walks of life to work together in part- r nership to help build houses with families in need." ^ Habitat relies on donations from the community and organizations for v material. However, they could not * build these houses without volunteer t workers. These volunteers are able c to help build someone a home, one that the owners can be proud of. Mary Ankrim and Shirley i Anderson are co-presidents for the USC chapter of Habitat. They are c two of the many USC students who ^ reach out into the community each r , -- - m^Lr* y - - jjj|| : -2- * ; students bi veek and help someone in need. Ankrim said the Habitat chapter )n campus has been around for a vhile, but the chapter's involvement vas minimal until three years ago. Ankrim and Anderson are two of he several founding members of this new" chapter. The chapter meets mce during the week and then again :ach weekend at the College House. The College House is not a place ,,i i icr- ?i? viicic uuv> i idunai uid(;ici iiiciii* >ers can party. Cynthia Rahal, the volunteer coordinator of Habitat in Columbia said the College House is i house that Habitat is currently wilding. It's called the College House >ecause USC, Midlands Tech and Columbia College make up the najority of the volunteer labor force. Tie funding for this house is coming rom these colleges, Rahal said. Ankrim and Anderson have worked for Habitat for several years. ;rom painting to stuffing envelopes, hese active USC volunteers have lone it all. 1 Ankrim said she wanted to >ecome active in the Habitat pro- 1 J-_ l- _1 1 ;raui in uruer 10 neip someone eise. ; "I believe in giving back to the immunity, and this is a fun way to : lelp someone as well as meet some ( eally neat people," Ankrim said. 1 4 * v. w !jfeji " . M.^J'JLr? > lild house fc "Our philosophy is to provide simple decent housing. We help build a hand up, not a handout Habitat is not a give-away program," - Cynthia Rahal volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Columbia Ankrim decided to become presiient for the Habitat chapter in order :o keep it active. "Students can really benefit from :his experience. 1 would like to see JSC students become more active n the Habitat cause." She said she feels like the Habitat urogram is a step in the right direc-ion to rlo o\ua\r ti/ifh cuKcfonrlorrl lousing. "Being able to have your own louse and pay for it gives people a sense of achievement and pride." Ankrim said the USC chapter is still in the building phase. Currently :here are around 100 members of the rlabitat chapter. Of these 100 peo \4;*v -ba ' *' cl M, c< . . : ; V ' -b-0 SJ '-"A ^ \ * ^ f i? s^sl ISP nr* ^S |"M jg|?|[i ftp Kelley Hurrle /Garnet &Black >r Habitat foi pie you can find anywhere from 10 to i 20 of them each and every Saturday < afternoon working on the College House, Ankrim said. i According to Rahal, USC stu- j dents from other campus organizations have worked on the College ] House. Fraternities, sororities, facul- j ty and alumni have pitched in to help with Habitat projects. ( The average cost to build a house , similar to the College House is around $35,000. , This cost varies according to the < location, the size, and any special , needs that the homeowner might , need to live there. This money < comes from donations from church- , es, corporate sponsors, businesses and individuals, Rahal said. Even though donations are being , made, the family who moves into the , home will eventually pay for the < home over a 20 year period in a no- , interest mortgage, she said. "Our philosophy is to provide sim- . pie decent housing. We help build a , hand up, not a hand-out. Habitat is not a give-away program," Rahal said. , Wahitaf hoc CAVArol miirlAlinoc ? """ ",a>- i it follows when choosing a family to , live in a Habitat home. Some of the things Habitat is looking for are: Does the candidate live in a le 'College House': i A ante frnm thp JIWH? n ?v iiversity of South irolina, Midlands chnical College and ilumbia College volunred to build a house for ibitat for Humanity, e house is being funded the three schools. r Humanity neighborhood made undesirable by :rime, drugs, or lack of service. Are their utilities and monthly rent more than a third of their inromp They are willing to produce at [east 20 hours of "Sweat Equity" per month for a total of 300 hours. Is their income steady secure enough to be obligated to a twenty /ear mortgage. According to Rahal, there are over seventy Habitat homes in the Columbia area, and five more are in the progress of being built. She said there are 542 homes in South Carolina, and 83 of these homes were built in 1996. Bonnie Martian, Administrative A?sisfanf fnr rkp Aflanfir region of Habitat said there are currently 12,521 homes in the United States that were built by Habitat voljnteers and donations. "Habitat does not limit itself to just the United States," Martian ?n, ?a., ?i? miu. out 1 tinty Liitic ait liiuic Lliail ZOO international affiliates in almost 50 nations around the world. These affiliates have been responsible for 300 building projects in these nations." To become involved in Habitat for Humanity or to make a donation call 252-3570.