Skip to main content

Poole College ‘Shack’ is Up; Fundraising Begins in Earnest

The adage, ‘many hands make light work,’ was shown to be true Sunday morning as Poole College’s shack took shape on NC State University’s Brickyard.

It was one of four structures under construction at the start of the NC State University Habitat for Humanity chapter’s annual Shack-a-Thon fundraiser, with a total of 17 expected by the end of the day.

By 10 a.m., the framework and most of the walls of Poole College’s shack were in place, with about a dozen Poole Ambassadors and Peers Leaders working under the guidance of construction mentors from Rufty Homes, Inc., including company founder and president Jon Rufty. Rufty is a member of the college’s Board of Advisors and has helped support the Poole College team each year, saying his crew members “enjoy working with the students.” (View the Poole College construction team’s photos online at Flickr.)

By noon, the mentors had packed up and gone, along with the nails, hammers, levels, saws, and other construction gear. In their place was the second crew of Poole College student workers, working on the exterior painting. At 2 p.m., painting was well under way, and by 8 a.m. Monday morning, the Poole College shack was ‘inhabited’ by three undergraduate students: Linda Nieto, a junior in business administration; Punam Patel, a senior in accounting, and Portia Keyes, a sophomore majoring in economics. For the rest of the week, Poole College students will be taking turns staying in the shack, day and night, through Sept. 23, selling backed goods and college-branded merchandise and collecting donations. Any Poole College student interested in helping is encouraged to contact the shack team’s organizers by email.

Donations to the Poole College team can be made online. Online donations will be accepted for the college’s shack through Sept. 30, 2011.

Even before construction began on the Brickyard, Poole College’s Shack-a-Thon student organizers were hard at work, creating teams representing all students at the college and launching fundraising efforts. By Sunday afternoon, they had already received $1,020 toward their $3,000 goal for the week. Last year, Poole College’s shack team raised more than $4,500, making it NC State’s top Habitat fundraiser.

This is the college’s third year in the NC State student event that turns the Brickyard into a temporary residential community intended to raise funds and awareness of the need for affordable housing. It is the 21st year that NC State’s Habitat for Humanity chapter has held the fundraiser. Its total goal this year is $20,000.

Poole College was the top fundraiser in 2010, with Honors Village, Caldwell Fellows, IRC/NRHH/SG rounding out the top four. These groups had their wood provided by the Habitat chapter, using supplies in part salvaged from the tear-down of all shacks at the end of the week.

Read more

Poole College 2010 Shack-a-Thon Team Earns First Place

Poole College Student Groups Collaborate to Raise Funds for Habitat for Humanity in 2009