NC State and its Habitat for Humanity student chapter announced a massive fundraising initiative this evening at Packapalooza.

Over the next two years the organization will work to fundraise $715,000 to “Build-A-Block” of 11 townhomes.

The funds, with the help of the annual student chapter’s Shack-A-Thon event, will be used to build the homes. The current plan is for the first five to be built in the fall of 2016 and the last six in the spring of 2017.

“This year, for the 2015-2016 school year, we’ll be fundraising for 11 sponsorships,” Sarah Paluskiewicz, a senior studying polymer and color chemistry and president of the student chapter, said. “That’s $65,000 a piece … The funding will begin as soon as the announcement is made and will conclude at Shack-a-Thon in 2016. During that 2016-2017 school year we’ll take all of that funding and use it to build the homes.”

Wake County’s Habitat for Humanity acquired the land for the townhomes two years ago. According to Jim Middleton, land development manager, the organization was supposed to begin clearing the land months ago but ran into some issues with the City of Raleigh.

“First we’ve got to pave the roads and get everything squared away with the city,” Middleton said. “Once we’ve gotten the land ready, and the hard part out of the way, we can really get started. It’s going to be great.”