UNC Build a Block celebrates success

Following more than 7,052 hours of work by more than 1,400 University students, faculty and staff, leaders of the Build a Block project will welcome their first family this weekend.

The project, organized by the UNC chapter of Habitat for Humanity, will house UNC Hospitals employees and their families in 10 houses, all of which were built in the last year.

In the fall of 2009, Habitat for Humanity Orange County approached UNC student Megan Jones with the news that a record number of UNC staff had recently been approved for Habitat low-income housing.

Out of that conversation, the Build a Block project was born.

This weekend, after one year of work and more than $300,000 in fundraising, community members and those involved in the project will celebrate the successful effort.

Chancellor Holden Thorp will attend the dedication ceremony, as will UNC alumnus Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International.

Susan Bourner, director of development for Habitat for Humanity Orange County, said the project was one of the largest such developments undertaken by a university in the U.S.

She said the project represented a “paradigm shift” in the way universities approach low-income housing developments — building 10 houses in a year when the norm is two or three.

This summer, UNC Habitat chapter won Habitat for Humanity’s campus chapter of the year, which included a $4,500 grant from State Farm Insurance.

The Build a Block model will be discussed as an example of what is possible from a college Habitat chapter at the Habitat for Humanity Youth Leadership Conference in November, Bourner said.

Lauren Blanchet, co-director of the Build a Block project, said the entire UNC community became involved.

“Most people contributed to this project somehow, whether they bought a cookie at a bake sale, attended our a cappella concert or signed up to the build,” she wrote in an email.

“Our University can break down boundaries and come together to make some positive change.”

Blanchet added that the UNC chapter will not stop here, and has ambitions to continue working to provide accommodation for families who need it.

“The truth is, there are still families living in substandard housing in Chapel Hill, and we believe that as a community we have a responsibility to do what we can to help them.”

Ashley Gremel, a UNC student who volunteered for Build a Block, wrote in an email that going to the build site gave meaning to the extensive process of organizing and fundraising.

“Build A Block is Tar Heel pride taken off the basketball court,” she wrote. “If you go to a build once, you will be hooked for life.”

Franklin Niblock, co-chairman of the UNC chapter of Habitat for Humanity, said it was nice to make a difference at home.

He said Sunday’s dedication represents the culmination of the entire project, and it will be great to see all of the different volunteers come together to celebrate.

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