The IU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity raked leaves in the yard of local Bloomington houses Nov.11-13. The purpose of this event is to raise donations to help build a new home in Bloomington for a family in need.
Habitat for Humanity is an international organization with multiple chapters across the world. The IU Chapter works to eliminate substandard housing in the Monroe County area and help the Bloomington community by providing on-site volunteers and organizing various fundraisers, according to Monroe County Habitat for Humanity.
Monroe County has an increased need for Habitat for Humanity as one in five people in the county live in poverty. Habitat for Humanity’s goal is to eliminate poverty housing by building decent, affordable homes in partnership with qualifying families.
Daniel Buyers, President of the IU chapter of Habitat for Humanity, said the Rake-A-Thon has been happening in Bloomington for over a decade.
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“We are a part of a larger organization that does good across a larger part of the country,” Buyers said. “Although we are a student organization, we are a part of a greater national correlation, and that is such an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Buyers said in recent years there has been a decrease of volunteers. Because of that he assumed there would be a lack of volunteers who wanted to spend their Saturday afternoon raking leaves around town.
“We addressed that issue by partnering with other organizations, like Beta Sig Fraternity and Delta Sigma Pi Fraternity,” Buyers said. “In doing that we were able to collaborate with them to help serve as many houses as possible.”
In total together, volunteers completed over 125 hours of service throughout the weekend. Although they are still collecting all the funds from online donations, the organization raised more than $2,000, Buyers said.
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“Being a part of such an impactful organization is so powerful,” Buyer said. “I appreciate being able to go outside of campus and help the community. Everyone working together was amazing and exposed a lot of people to a new side of service.”
Eden Kee, director of outreach for the IU Chapter Habitat for Humanity, said Rake-A-Thon was the largest fundraiser of the semester and allowed volunteers to work outside of just IU campus.
“This was super fun and rewarding for everyone involved,” Kee said. “We want to get involved more with the Bloomington city, and Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County in order to spread more advocacy.”
