Build It plans house project

Carolyn Walker of University Facilities holds a photograph of her house, the first Habitat for Humanity home to be built in Richmond. UR students worked on the 1989 project.

The University of Richmond will partner with three community organizations to build an affordable house in the Highland Park neighborhood this spring.

The eight-week build is the result of a collaboration between the University and three partner organizations: Richmond Metropoli- tan Habitat for Humanity, Richmond Rede-velopment and Housing Authority (RRHA), and Boaz and Ruth, an agency dedicated to successful prisoner re-entry, community revitalization and cross-cultural dialogue.

“This collaboration is an important part of Build It, the University’s largest sustained community-engagement initiative coordinated by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement,” said Cassie Price, CCE community initiatives and program coordinator who is overseeing the project.

The CCE also has planned educational programs about affordable housing, access to credit and related community issues to complement the volunteer effort.

As the organizational sponsor, the University is contributing funds raised by Build It, the Chaplaincy and the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and will provide much of the labor, estimated at 15 volunteers daily from Wednesday through Saturday, beginning Feb. 27. A dedication ceremony is planned for April 19.

Boaz and Ruth also will provide construction volunteers. RRHA sold the property to Habitat for $5,000 and donated back $4,999. Richmond Habitat will act as general contractor, providing supplemental funding as well as house design plans that will blend with the architectural style of the Highland Park neighborhood.

University President Edward Ayers said the collaborative effort “is a powerful opportunity for students, faculty and staff to work together with our community partner agencies and our Richmond neighbors.”

“This home build provides a visible boost to our ongoing partnerships in Highland Park and educational efforts on community development and social change,” said Price.

For the past two years, Build It volunteers have worked in Highland Park, providing services for Reach Out and Read Virginia, Hotchkiss Community Center, Chandler Middle School, Overby-Sheppard Elementary School, and Boaz and Ruth. Each week, approximately 70 students served as tutors, read to children in pediatricians’ waiting rooms, served meals and coached youth athletic teams, among other activities.

Last spring, Build It sponsored a campus-community fair at Hotchkiss Community Center, which offered a variety of educational programs, including a reading program for children and a marine-life exhibit. Students also assisted Boaz and Ruth with renovations to two properties that serve its clients and residents of Northside.

Build It “develops long-term reciprocal community partnerships that create experiential-learning opportunities for students while helping to fulfill unmet needs in the community,” said Price..