Last week, LSU Greek Life students built a home for a Baton Rouge family, a tradition a part of its annual Greek Week Build.
The LSU Panhellenic Council teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build its 38th home since starting the partnership in 2005.
The build began with a concrete slab on March 21, with the volunteer team finishing their portion of construction by the weekend.
Volunteers took on the basics of building the house, with framing, siding and roofing being some of the duties carried out by the students. Anything that would not require a license, the students took part in.
The students and volunteers built the house for Iriel Williams, a member of the Habitat for Humanity program.
“We started off with a slab, and we have a whole house in less than six days. And I have met some of the most nice, awesome, beautiful people this week,” Williams said.
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that allows low-income families to purchase a simple home at an affordable price. While the build only took a week, the work put into the project has been going on for months.
This involves hours of ‘Sweat Equity’ which is the work a future Habitat homeowner spends helping build their own home and the homes of other prospective homeowners.
“This is a celebration, and a culmination of a lot of hard work from our partner family,” said Richie Goeble, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
This build was also the result of cooperation from many Greek Life students that volunteered. Every available slot to volunteer was filled, according to Greek Leadership Team member Caitlyn Story.
Anne Mcconn, vice president of the Greek Leadership Team, said the build was a collaboration between multiple chapters working together to complete the house.
The build did not only highlight service, but also gave students a chance to make an impact on the Baton Rouge community as a whole.
“It’s been really cool to see every chapter, every council show up to really give back to our Baton Rouge community,” Mcconn said.
The house was built to be sold to Williams after her work in Habitat for Humanity’s program. It was dedicated to her on Sunday.
“It’s awesome, and they say they do this every year,” Williams said. “They make somebody happy every year.”
