Sat., May 12, the sixth annual Shack-a-thon took place on Lawrence University’s Main Hall Green.
Shack-a-thon is a collaboration of the Volunteer Center, Students’ War Against Hunger and Poverty, and Habitat for Humanity.
Thirteen on-campus groups participated in this year’s Shack-a-thon, including Phi Beta Kappa, College Democrats, Swing Dancing Club, SWAHP, Greenfire, Co-op, Phi Kappa Tau, Amnesty International, Lambda Sigma, VIVA!, Black Organization of Students, and Habitat for Humanity, as well as all seven dorms.
All of the shacks were built out of donated or recycled materials “to simulate substandard housing and how it feels to not have everything,” explained Habitat for Humanity member Emily Palmer.
This year’s Shack-a-thon raised over $1,000 with the money going toward the Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity.
The winner of this year’s Shack-a-thon, for raising the most money, was the Colman-Brokaw collaboration with $208.
Coming in second were Hiett and LARY Buddy with $200, and in third place were Lambda Sigma, Circle K, Amnesty International and SWAHP with $125.
“The point of Shack-a-thon is to come together and raise money and Colman this year was an excellent example of the kind of spirit Shack-a-thon needs,” Palmer said.
“They went door to door within their dorm collecting change, and from this alone they accumulated $50,” she added.
The winner for the best shack was Colman-Brokaw with Swing Club’s shack coming in second, as judged by psychology professor Matt Ansfield and Lawrence fellow Josh Hart.
Shack-a-thon provided entertainment for those who slept in the shacks, which included a showing of “The Pursuit of Happyness” followed by a performance from the band Summer Storm.
Shack-a-thon began six years ago when Brian Hilgeman, who worked at the Volunteer Center and was the Habitat for Humanity president, set up the long-term goal of co-sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity home.
This goal took five years to reach and was finally completed with last year’s Shack-a-thon with a total of $20,000, proving that shacking up for this event is always a good idea.
zShacking up for a good cause -mrm –ama – mcb
