'Do You Give a Buck?' to fund Habitat house

The JMU Habitat for Humanity organization will host "Do You Give a Buck" on the commons April 14 and 15 in hopes to get every student to donate $1.

All donations to Habitat will go toward funding a home that was built last fall for a local family.

"We need to raise $13,000 more in order to pay [Central Valley Habitat for Humanity] back in full," said senior Sarah Murray, Habitat for Humanity vice president.

Last year Habitat raised about $148 for its "Do You Give a Buck?" fund raiser.

"Our all-time goal for this fund raiser is to raise enough money to fund another house, to help a local family get on their feet and out of poverty housing," said senior Amanda Laz, Habitat for Humanity president.

"JMU Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit campus organization that has a strong dedication to motivating and educating the JMU student body about poverty housing issues in Harrisonburg," Laz said.

"[We] strive to bring support to anybody with an immediate housing need. Our goal of eliminating poverty housing worldwide begins with one local family," she added.

According to sophomore Aubury Holmes, Habitat for Humanity treasurer, many of the families who live in Habitat homes have struggled through rough times. The Habitat homes are cheaper than others because many of the necessary tools are donated from local businesses.

"The families still have to pay and donate their services to working on a Habitat house for a certain number of hours," Holmes said. "The families do not have to pay interest over time. After the home is completed, the families become homeowners."

Habitat for Humanity has held several other fund-raising events throughout the year. Rent-a-Worker is one of the fund raisers in which professors "rent" Habitat members to do yardwork for them.

Habitat also has collected cans to recycle and held letter drives, during which Habitat members send out letters asking for donations from close friends and relatives. Habitat also has sponsored movies at Grafton-Stovall Theatre with the University Program Board.

"Do You Give a Buck?" will be held on the commons April 14 and 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information e-mail Sarah Murray at murrayse.