The 2017 Shack-a-Thon ended at 5 p.m. Friday, and final deconstruction of the shacks took place on Sunday. According to Habitat for Humanity at NC State, the event, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary, raised approximately $40,000.
The event’s original goal for fundraising was $65,000, according to Habitat for Humanity. For many of the students participating, volunteering with Shack-A-Thon provided them the opportunity of meeting new people. At least, that’s what stuck out most to Priya Rallapalli, a second-year studying business administration.
“I realized just how friendly people are,” Rallapalli said. “It’s just different when you’re actually working the booths. You don’t realize how hard people work.”
Austin Sym, a third-year studying sports management, worked in the College of Natural Resources shack, and says that he had the same impression.
“It’s a little bit more difficult to raise money than I thought it would be,” Sym said. “I think we had some good ideas going, it’s just difficult to get people to buy into, you know?”
By contrast, Zoey Aishin, a fourth-year studying environmental science, was positive about how much money Shack-a-Thon had raised.
While it was her second year participating, Aishin said that she “felt as if it was more successful in raising money this year.”
Aishin was especially excited about the animals that other shacks had brought to the Brickyard, such as the Impact Leadership and Engineering Villages, but overall she was glad to see that Shack-a-Thon was still ongoing.
“We always end up having overflowing people from our organization because everyone enjoys doing it so much,” Aishin said. “We’re raising money, but we’re also getting to hang out. That’s what’s so cool about Shack-a-Thon.”
Claudia Mason, a third-year studying statistics and economics, noted that she had been exposed to a plethora of organizations she had otherwise no idea that had been existing on campus as a result of attending Shack-a-Thon.
According to Mason, one aspect of Shack-a-Thon that she particularly enjoyed was the people and interactions with individuals coming to the shacks.
“It’s great when people just come up and they’re like, kind of interested in what you’re selling, but also just want to donate,” Mason said.
Shack-A-Thon is slotted to return to the Brickyard once again in fall 2018.
Samantha Hoff, a third-year studying zoology, browses the Caldwell Fellow's selection of plants while Shrikar Nunna, a fourth-year studying chemical engineering and political science, waters the plants Monday. Shack-A-Thon is an annual student-run fundraiser where students eat, sleep and fundraise in the shacks they build. All proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity of Wake County.
