Lauren Kruchten
Andrea Sellers, a junior studying parks and recreation tourism management, and Ryan Levine, a freshman studying fishery and wildlife conservation biology, man the College of Natural Resources shack for Shack-A-Thon Sept. 22. The college built their shack out of bamboo taken from Hill Forest outside Durham and took them a total of 12 hours to build. Last year the College of Natural Resources won the award for best shack at Shack-A-Thon.
The yearly Shack-a-Thon fundraiser, put together by NC State’s student chapter of Habitat for Humanity, hopes to once again brake their fundraising record.
Student chapter president Sarah Paluskiewicz said this year’s fundraiser went exceptionally well.
“I feel confident that we saw $50,000,” Paluskiewicz said.
The announced goal of $65,000 for Shack-A-Thon 2015 was significantly higher than previous years. However, Paluskiewicz said she wasn’t surprised when the actual number of monies raised was somewhat lower.
“That was a dream goal,” Paluskiewicz said. “We put that number out as a representative of a house in Wake County.”
The fundraiser brought in about $46,000 in 2014 and $37,000 in 2013. The consistent increase in Shack-A-Thon’s revenue showcases the ever-growing enthusiasm NC State students have for the activity, which has quickly become a student favorite.
For the second consecutive year, the College of Natural Resources raised the most money, with its specially grown and harvested bamboo shack. CNR will be recognized as a copper hammer sponsor by Habitat Wake for raising over $10,000. The Poole College of Management placed second. Bringing up the rear was the Caldwell Fellows’ shack. Paluskiewicz intends to take advantage of the momentum gained during Shack-A-Thon to help propel future fundraising efforts.
“We’re going to push for organizations that participated in Shack-A-Thon to continue participating throughout the year,” Paluskiewicz said.
The success of the student chapter’s fundraising efforts is intended to culminate with the Build-A-Block project that is expected to be ready next year. The Build-A-Block project is an effort between the student chapter and its Wake County affiliate to raise $715,000 to “Build-A-Block” of 11 townhomes on Lake Wheeler Road. The plan is to build the first five townhomes in the fall of 2016 and the last six in the spring of 2017. The property is two-an-a-half acres and is within walking distance of both a grocery store and a bus stop. The fundraising began Aug. 22 and will conclude at Shack-A-Thon in 2016.
Editor’s note: This story originally said the Poole College of Management came in first place in fundraising. This is incorrect. The College of Natural Resources came in first place.