Hanging out at the Campus Crusade for Christ shack Thursday afternoon, Ken Farnaso was only expecting to pass the time with some friends or perhaps solicit some donations. 

As Farnaso and his friends played with a guitar, an older man in a suit came by, looking a little out of place in the expanse of the hobo-inspired grid of shacks. He asked the guys if he could play guitar with them, but only after introducing himself as Chancellor Randy Woodson.

“I mean, what other person, who holds the highest seat of office in our University, would go out and try to mingle with our student body?” Farnaso asked.

Between the intermittent excitement at Shack-a-thon, it was mostly chill time for the sophomore in biological sciences and the hundreds of other students who man the shacks day and night for a week. 

In the past 17 years, N.C. State’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity has hosted Shack-a-thon, the organization’s largest fundraiser. Thirty-three different clubs and organizations participated in the week-long event to solicit donations from people passing through the Brickyard.

“There are 17 shacks and between one to four organizations per shack,” Will McGugan, president of N.C. State’s Habitat chapter, said. “This year, we expect that the fundraising will be a little down, just because of the economy and some organizations have other events happening during Shack-a-thon. We’re shooting for about $15,000 this time around.”

In the face of adverse economic conditions and the logistical ordeal of planning around the “Brickyard Bubble,” Shack-a-thon received a large backing by the student body.  

This annual event is one of the largest fundraising events held on campus and all the proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity projects across Wake County.

“10 percent of the money goes overseas,” McGugan said. “Last year we donated a lot to Haiti. The rest of the donations go to our services locally.”

Monday through Friday, volunteers camped out day and night, making sure to squeeze in as many donations as possible. Devising clever tactics to solicit passersby, each shack attempted to make most of the students’ generosity and good will.  

“The Caldwell Fellows shack has been using a number of different strategies,” Nate Zellmer, a senior in industrial design and human biology, said. “We started with the shack painted Carolina blue and we gave people the chance to paint red over it — a dollar a dip of paint.”

The WKNC “Radio Shack” offered live music and entertainment to draw contributions. Other shacks relied on more rudimentary ways to collect donations. Jared Stier, a freshman in nuclear engineering, said begging was the key to success.  

“My fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, has been sending people around the Brickyard begging for donations,” Stier said. “We had one guy on a razor scooter just begging people for money. One girl would not give him money, so he got down on one knee and pleaded for it. The more pathetic, the better.”

Donations are not restricted to the confines of the Brickyard. A recent addition to Habitat’s approach has been an online donation opportunity, located on the club’s website. Contributors can select which organization to make donations to.

“It’s great for faculty, families, people in the community and just people that aren’t in the Brickyard to donate to the cause,” Erin Morris, Student Government’s co-commissioner of community outreach, said. The online donating system worked with the online payment giant, Pay-Pal.

Despite advancements in technology, panhandling is still panhandling.

“We’re getting lots of change,” Mija Nichols, a fundraising officer for Habitat for Humanity, said. “But the counting process has been good. We’re going through a lot of rolls of change, but the shacks all have to count up their own amount. I collect and double-check at the end of the day.”

Wednesday proved to be one of the most profitable days of the week.

“I think the farmer’s market drew a lot of people out to donate, especially non-students,” Nichols said.

The main aspect of getting student organizations to participate in Shack-a-thon is to create a little bit of competition to vie for the most donations. The four clubs that raise the most money earn a guaranteed spot in the event the next year, and Habitat provides all the wood and materials for their shacks. The rest of the organizations must bid for spots and provide their own wood.

Although the event focuses on fundraising for Habitat for Humanity, clubs benefit indirectly. Shack-a-thon is an opportunity for student organizations to publicize their missions and expand their membership.

“We trying to do a combination of things,” Erin Morris, co-commissioner of student government’s community outreach, said. “We want to educate people about homelessness in the local area, raise money for Habitat for Humanity and also try to get Student Government out there.”

Student Government used their time in the Brickyard as an opportunity to connect with the student body and to encourage students to actively participate in student affairs.

“We are always looking for ways to engage students in service and to find out what they are really passionate about,” Morris said.

Student Government offered various activities to entice donations, such as root beer pong, cornhole and opportunities to pie Student Body President Kelly Hook in the face.

“It was a dollar a pie,” Morris said. “She was a real champ! She was out here getting pied [for] about two hours Wednesday.”

Shack-a-thon attracted students and staff from all over campus to participate for a common cause. Shack veteran Nate Zellmer participated in the event for the fourth time this year, but the fundraiser drew in many freshmen to participate.

“I had no clue what exactly Shack-a-thon was about before I signed up,” said Toni Campbell, a First Year College student and class senator. “Once I figured out it was for a great cause, I felt like it was something I really needed to get involved in. No regrets! If I haven’t had class, I’ve been out here.”

Although shacks used signup sheets to distribute hours amongst club officers, many stayed past their allotted time. Stier spent upward to 40 hours at his fraternity’s shack, saying it was a great way to socialize and pass the time.

Habitat for Humanity did not manage to meet its $15,000 goal within the week of Shack-a-thon. However, McGugan said there will be online fundraising going on throughout the week after Shack-a-thon. The biggest donor cannot be announced until the end of the collection of funds on Friday.

“Many [shacks] are within less than $100 of each other,” McGugan said. “With a full week of fundraising still available, anything can happen.”