While many students will be attempting to catch up on sleep from a long week of classes on Saturday morning, some will be partaking in a more meaningful activity.
On April 17, the N.C. State Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter will host its 11th Annual House Your Neighbor 10K, 5K and Fun Run, which will be held on Centennial Campus to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Wake County.
Known by many simply as the organization that builds houses for the less fortunate, Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian organization dedicated to developing meaningful partnerships in the community to build affordable homes for people in need of some additional assistance.
According to N.C. State chapter president Kristin Hoke, the goals of the campus chapter aren’t that much different.
“Our campus chapter aims to provide opportunities to students to get involved with Habitat for Humanity,” Hoke said.
In order to do this, the group serves to educate, advocate and – perhaps most notably – fundraise.
This upcoming weekend, Habitat will tap into all three of these goals with the House Your Neighbor Race.
At the center of the race is Luisa Jaramillo, one of the fundraising officers for the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
“The race itself is put together by the fundraising team,” Jaramillo said. “I kind of took it under my wings and have been working on it since last semester.”
Unlike past years, the campus chapter got some additional help from Bike & Build, a non-profit organization that organizes cross-country bicycle trips to benefit affordable housing groups.
“This year, we got a grant from Bike & Build to put the race together, so everything that we make from the people that register and run is 100 percent profit for Habitat for Humanity,” Jaramillo said.
According to Jaramillo, the event this year is sure to be different than races from past years. In fact, this year marks the first year that a 10K race will be included.
“There are a lot of 5Ks going on right now because April’s a really busy month for races,” Jaramillo said. “So the thought process behind the 10K was to have another way to get more of the student population involved.”
Over the past few years, the event has grown tremendously, often bringing in as much as $5,000.
“Past races have been pretty good. One year we got up to about 300 runners,” Hoke said. “This year we really expected a good race because we added a 10K. So we were hoping to get more runners out to make our race stand out more than others in the area and to spread the word about Habitat.”
Last year, however, participation was not what Jaramillo and her fellow officers hoped for.
“Last year we only had participation from about 80 people,” Jaramillo said.
Alumna Molly Widmyer is one of the individuals who raced last year.
“I found out about the race when I participated in a break trip with Habitat, and I was really into their idea and I just thought it was a great plan,” Widmyer said.
Widmyer said she hopes that more students would consider doing the same.
As of right now, approximately 120 people have registered to participate in the races – already an increase from last year. However, according to Jaramillo, they are still shy of their goal.
“We didn’t have a number as far as money goes, but we had a race participant goal of around 200,” she said.
Jaramillo said she and the other members of the campus chapter hope more people will consider registering over the next couple of days in order to make sure that they reach that goal.
“Registration is still open, and people can register all throughout this week and the day of the race as well,” Jaramillo said.
According to Widmyer, one reason for students to consider participating in the race is to learn more about the organization.
For example, throughout the race, HabiFacts – or Habitat for Humanity facts – are distributed to the runners in the race, which Widmyer said is unique in comparison to other races.
Widmyer said the overall experience that one gets from participating in an event of this nature is unique to the race as well.
“You have the experience of being there with a group of people and seeing the effects because usually there are homeowners that run as well,” she said. “So you can actually talk to people who have participated in the Habitat program and have become success stories because of it.”
Hoke even said that she and other Habitat members will step up their campus outreach this week.
“We’re really looking to get at least between 150 and 200 people,” Hoke said. “We’re going to be out in the Brickyard trying to get students to register this week. We’re pretty sure that we can break the 150 mark.”
Regardless of whether or not they meet this goal, however, Jaramillo maintains her sense of pride in the organization that she serves.
“It’s just exciting to see it all finally coming together,” Jaramillo said. “I wish the numbers were a bit higher, but I’m excited to see what the final numbers will be. I hope that it is an enjoyable event for everyone who participates.”
For more information on the N.C. State Habitat for Humanity House Your Neighbor 5K/10K race, please visit the campus chapter’s web site: http://clubs.ncsu.edu/hab_for_hum.
