The RPI chapter of the national organization Habit for Humanity broke ground on their first major house on Tuesday, April 22. The group has been working since 2000 to acquire the necessary funds and personnel for the project, and now boasts a budget of approximately $50,000 and a membership of 300.
The home is being built for Jeanette Alejandro, who works in the J-Building mail room at RPI and is a mother of three children: One daughter attends SUNY Stony Brook, the other attends Russell Sage College, and she has one son at Doyle Middle School. Alejandro’s house will be built at the intersection of 11th Street and Jacob Street, number 84.
“I’m very excited that students and community members could come together like this,” said Nathan Walsh, president of the RPI chapter of Habitat for Humanity. “It’s uplifting to see students have an interest in something like this.”
The club was chartered at the school in 2001, and was selected by the international organization as its 700th campus chapter. According to Walsh, the organization was impressed by the club’s plan to build a large house for their first project, and in addition to honoring them with the status of the 700th club pledged to match the first $10,000 raised. This was quickly accomplished—President Jackson donated those funds out of her own pocket, and the club quickly began making use of its new status and funds, though it would be a long time before they could begin construction on the house.
While the group has been waiting to begin the construction of their own project, they have been helping out other local community service groups. They spend the second and fourth Saturdays of every month at another HFH project, and have helped build community gardens and the ARCH II house that is being sponsored by the Troy Architectural Project. The ARCH II program is aimed at researching “affordable, environmentally-sound building systems” to be used in the future by organizations such as HFH.
Now that all the funds have been raised and the groundbreaking ceremony is over, the group is looking toward starting construction on the house this summer. According to Walsh, the club plans to pour the foundation over the summer, and start framing the house with new freshmen volunteers in the fall. They will close in the house before winter and work on the interior during the cold months before returning outside in the spring to finish the yard. The projected schedule plans for a dedication ceremony in the spring of 2004.
