THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505230090
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
They held penny wars in the dorms. They solicited donations from hardware stores and oil companies and labor from area churches, Navy groups and Scouts. An anonymous donor kicked in $5,000.
After three years of raising money and twisting a few arms, Old Dominion University's chapter of Habitat for Humanity finally raised the required $30,000 to begin building its first home. They broke ground on the Lamberts Point residence at the corner of Bluestone Avenue and 38th Street on Feb. 26.
Now, each weekend, dozens of students and a host of community volunteers are wielding hammers, wiring electrical sockets and installing windows in an untiring effort to finish the job. Hampered by an unsteady flow of volunteer workers, the students figure they'll finish sometime this summer.
``It's not moving superfast,'' admitted Marc Smiley, an ODU senior and one of the project's construction supervisors. ``The way things are going, we probably won't finish until the end of the summer.
``But the goal here is really to get people involved and do a good job, rather than getting the house done fast.''
Still, the students acknowledge they could use more help. Already, a wide range of community volunteers have pitched in. A Girl Scout troop recently spent the day sifting debris from a pile of sand. Members of First Lutheran Church of Norfolk have framed the structure, installed plumbing, loaded equipment and made sandwiches to feed workers. Crews from several Navy ships also have spent days helping. An Eagle Scout is earning a merit badge for his contributions.
``The volunteers we've had have been so willing to do anything that needs to be done,'' Smiley said. ``They've been great.''
Added another project coordinator, Jeff Wells: ``A group of kids from the neighborhood were walking by one day, and they said they wanted to help, so we had them clean out a shed. The outpouring from the community has been just tremendous.''
On a recent Sunday afternoon, about eight people were doing various jobs within the house. The framework for the house is completed, and now volunteers are working on finishing work. While Smiley and Wells oversaw a group of men who were installing scaffolding to the second floor in order to install a window, Barbara Protsman and her 9-year-old granddaughter, Dana, were wiring several electrical sockets in a room that eventually will become a family room.
``I like to do things for other people ... and I'm hoping Dana will get the same attitude,'' said Protsman, a member of First Lutheran. ``I don't have a husband to do for, and we had time today, so we decided to come over and help. They've got us wiring electrical sockets.''
``I'm helping my grandma by signing people in,'' Dana said. ``It's neat to be here.''
Nearby, another First Lutheran member, Darrell Kristo, sat on the floor of the room, lost in the colored wires of a socket.
``I'm a tax auditor, and I'm not used to doing this kind of work,'' he said. ``But I figured they needed help, so I'd help out where I could. After they show you how, this is pretty easy.''
Although some 300 volunteers have offered a spare day here, a week there, a core of about 12 students at ODU have remained dedicated to the project of providing a home for a nearby Lamberts Point resident since hatching the idea in 1991. Their adviser is the Rev. William Davidson, ODU's Methodist chaplain.
From the very beginning, the students, who had experience in Florida rebuilding homes devastated by Hurricane Andrew, knew they wanted to build near campus.
``We wanted to build in Lamberts Point really bad,'' stressed Wells, one of the students who got the project off the ground. Wells has since graduated from ODU and works as a project manager for a nonprofit organization in Virginia Beach.
``A lot of student housing is going up in Lamberts Point, crowding out the neighborhood, and we wanted to show (the residents) we weren't about that - we wanted to help a resident get good housing in here.''
The new owner of the home is, in fact, a Lamberts Point resident and longtime volunteer for area Habitat projects. Clara ``Topsy'' Jackson was selected from a waiting list to purchase the home, which is being sold to her with an interest-free, 20-year mortgage.
Wells admits that the strain of raising funds, securing donated materials and then building a 1,100-square-foot house ``has burned a lot of people out.''
``It's been very tough,'' he said. ``But we've learned so much from this. And it's an excellent thing to do. I just really like the idea that I'm helping provide somebody a place to live.''
``It's been hard work, but a lot of fun,'' Smiley said. ``I like the idea of giving back to the community. It makes you feel real good to know you've helped give somebody a nice home.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Students and volunteers are working on ODU's first Habitat for
Humanity house.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
The ODU Habitat chapter is a campus affiliate of the South
Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity Inc., an ecumenical, nonprofit
organization formed in 1988. In addition to the ODU project, plans
are under way for 12 more homes to be built by volunteers by the end
of 1995, according to Sylvia Hallock, executive area for the
area-wide organization.
Volunteers interested in helping the ODU students can call
441-1424.
KEYWORDS: OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY by CNB