Once the cacophony of hammering is over and the panels are complete, they will be transported to the Edgemont neighborhood for completion.
This is the second year that UD freshmen have engaged in this service project, said Habitat for Humanity Development Director David Mauch. Last year, the incoming freshmen class built frames for another home in Edgemont, which will be the first new home built in the neighborhood in 80 years, according to the university.
The process saves the organization four to six weeks on an individual build.
“These freshmen are coming from all over the country. Some are local, but many are not from Dayton,” Mauch said. “So the fact that we can kind of get them thinking about service, doing some service, working with us during orientation weekend is meaningful for the school of business, because part of their educational mindset is ‘We want our students to give service to the city of Dayton while they’re here on campus.’”
Dayton Habitat for Humanity has built nearly 400 homes since 1983. To qualify for the purchase, Habitat home buyers must complete a minimum of 275 hours of volunteer sweat equity and over 40 hours of homeownership education classes. Each house is sold with a 0% interest rate on the loan, making homeownership accessible and affordable for the buyer, Mauch said.
The University of Dayton has its own student Habitat chapter, which has just shy of 200 members, said club president Dan Jevnikar.
“I kind of like the idea of just doing something that you’re not necessarily familiar with, with people that you don’t really know,” Jevnikar said. “Just going and doing the service. I think it helps a lot with building friendships, and also just taking the mental break from school.”
“At UD, our students embrace the call to serve from day one,” said School of Business Administration Dean Trevor Collier. “Our business students engage in meaningful community work throughout their undergraduate careers — administering microloans through the Greater West Dayton Incubator, managing investments for the Dayton Foundation, assisting with income tax filings, and completing projects for local businesses and nonprofits in their senior capstone courses.”
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