Poole College students set $10,000 goal for 2013 Shack-a-Thon

The annual NC State Shack-a-Thon to support Habitat for Humanity is back, and the Poole College team has set an ambitious goal of raising $10,000 this year, reports Ryan Musser, a Poole College senior majoring in finance and supply chain management and the college’s coordinator for this year’s Shack-a-thon project. Donations are being accepted online or various other options throughout the week.

“That’s a pretty lofty goal,” Musser said, but it follows the upward trend that the college has seen since building its first shack in 2009. That year, three Poole College teams raised a total of $1,710, earning third place in the campus-wide event. By 2011, the college was working as one team and raised just over $5,400.  In 2012, the college raised just over $8,000, the second year it set the record for funds raised campus-wide.

“At Poole College and across NC State, we work toward growth and change, so we hope that with the help of all students, faculty, staff, alumni and advisory board members in the Poole College community, we can achieve this lofty goal,” Musser said. By mid-morning Monday, they had already raised $1,300 toward that goal.

Poole College community invited to participate

As has been the case in the past, Poole’s Shack-a-Thon team hopes all members of the college community participate in the fundraiser. There are several ways to contribute.

• Give a Dollar. The Shack-a-Thon team will be collecting donations in Nelson Hall on Wednesday and Thursday, September 25 and 26. Members of the college’s team will be at a table on the second floor, with a donation container that is modeled after a previous Shack-a-Thon entry. “We ask all students and others in Nelson Hall on those two days to drop at least $1 dollar in the model shack,” Musser said.
• Buy at the shack. Fundraising will also be ongoing at the actual shack on the Brickyard, where Poole College students are taking turns keeping the shack occupied 24 hours a day, through Friday. Stop by the see what baked goods and other fundraising items are available. The Poole team also plans to have pizza on sale at DH Library during the week.
• Go Bowling. The Poole College team is arranging a bowling fundraiser at The Alley on Hillsborough Street this week. It is tentatively schedule for 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Watch this page and the electronic billboards in Nelson Hall for details, or follow the NC State University Poole College LinkedIn company page and Twitter for updates throughout the week.
• Donate online. Donations also can be made online at the NC State Habitat for Humanity website.

Funds raised support the NC State Habitat for Humanity Chapter, one of 500 campus chapters.

Since it was established in 1991, the NC State chapter has worked on more than 20 houses in and around Raleigh, working closely with Wake County Habitat, providing labor for about 23 houses in Wake County and financial support for 13 of the houses. The NC State chapter’s goals are:

• Education. The campus chapters educate fellow students and the community about the need for decent, affordable housing, and how Habitat fits into the solution. Check out the messages on each of the Brickyard shacks for stats and facts about poverty housing.
• Construction: Participation in the construction and renovation of houses gives students hands on opportunities to put their faith into action while building partnerships with Habitat affiliates.
• Fundraising: Campus chapters offer creative ways to raise funds for Habitat's work, both locally and internationally.

The Wake Count Habitat for Humanity website provides fact sheets and links to articles about home ownership requirements and poverty.

One of Poole College’s Jenkins MBA new students, who participated in a home building project as part of the program’s orientation days at the start of the academic year, wrote a blog post at the Wake Habitat for Humanity website about her experience. 

Support began on Build Day

The Shack-a-Thon began with a ‘build day’ on Sunday, Sept. 22. The college team met with employees of Gilbane , assisted by faculty, staff, parents and other friends of the college, built the shack following a master plan developed by volunteers from Gilbane Construction’s offices in Durham.

“They helped us write a master plan, showing what the shack would look like, how it would be built, and how much material to secure,” Musser said. He noted that “every Habitat house has a front porch; that’s why Poole’s shack has one, too.”

Materials for this year’s shack, purchased at a discount, included transparent roofing sheets. The new feature was designed and installed by team member Andrew Jordan, who recommended it to provide natural light for the shack’s interior. That eliminated the need for building window openings, which means the shack should be a little warmer, a benefit given the chilly September nights.

Poole Shack-a-Thon team members

Assisting Musser with the Shack-a-Thon this year are five team officers:

• April Gibbs, director of donations and Poole College Student Ambassador
• Amy Bero, director of student staffing and a Poole College Peer Leaders
• Kenny Maloney, director of marketing and president of DECA, based in Poole College
• Michelle Marley, director of student involvement and a Poole College Peer Leader
• Russell Bottrill, director of construction and a Poole College Student Ambassador

About ten students built the shack, with the help of Skip Davis, husband of Dr. Shannon Davis, Poole College’s associate dean for undergraduate programs, as well as parents of several of the Shack team members. One of the college’s Student Network Group mentors, Neil Ferguson, loaned the team construction tools for the project.

The shacks will remain on the Brickyard through Friday, September 27, and will be deconstructed on Saturday, September 28.

Other Poole College Community supporters for Habitat for Humanity

• Habitat for Humanity of Wake County recognized the Doggett Family's gift that funded construction of one family's home. Ron Doggett is a long-time Poole College Executive in Residence. In making the gift, Doggett is quoted as saying: "I was drawn to Habitat because it serves a need as basic as food – a place for a family to live. We’ve been fortunate in our personal and professional lives and saw this as a way to share, to give something back, to help a struggling family move ahead." Doggett is retired chairman and chief executive officer of of GoodMarkFoods, Inc. Read about the growth of the Ron and Jeanette Doggett Family to Family Fund. 
• As part of their new student orientation in August, students entering Poole College's full time MBA program spent a day working on a house for Habitat for Humanity. View their photos on the college's Flickr pages.