Habitat for Humanity is a
wonderful organization that
helps thousands of people.
At Bucks, anyone can join
Habitat for Humanity as a
club. The club meets every
Monday at 1 pm, at the
Perkasie Campus.
The adviser, Sandi
McLaughlin and the treasurer,
Tim Marvill of
Habitat for Humanity said
they enjoy being involved
in this very helpful organization.
Habitat for Humanity has
been around since 1976. It
was founded by Millard
and Linda Fuller in
Americus, Georgia. To
date, Habitat has built well
over 300,000 homes for the
less fortunate. And not only
in the United States, but all
over the world as well.
Every year, the Habitat
club of Bucks fundraises to
go on a build during spring
break. This year, the club is
going to Lexington,
Virginia. To raise money
for the trip, members go to
different locations such as
Wal-Mart and ask for donations
for Habitat. They also
raise money through selling
lollipops, pretzels and
more. Around eight to nine
people go on the trip, and
are the trip lasts anywhere
from four days to a week.
During this time, the
members, along with other
volunteers, help to build
houses for the less fortunate.
Tim Mavill, the club
treasurer, says he mostly
paints, landscapes, and drywalls.
For the more challenging
work, Habitat has
their own crew that they
hire. This staff consists of
plumbers, construction
workers, etc.
To qualify for a Habitat
built home, nominees are
chosen according to a few
characteristics: willingness
they have to be involved
with Habitat, ability to
repay the no prophet,
affordable mortgage, and
their personal needs. The
home owners are expected
to lend at least 500 hours
of their own time working
on their new home
(although this may vary by
the number of people in the
home, their age and
health).
Another great attribute
that Habitat for Humanity
has is that they have taken
the steps to go green. They
have partnered with such
companies as Electric
(PG&E) and Pacific Gas to
try and provide complete
solar grids for some of the
houses built.
Habitat is a wonderful
organization, and a great
club to join while being a
Bucks student. It has been
around for many years and
with every ones help, will
continue on for many
more.