Power of SUNY

SUNY ESF Students Shack Up for a Good Cause

In Sept. 2010, SUNY ESF students participated in the annual Shack-A-Thon, a community event in which various student organizations populate the local Quad with 12 shacks to raise money and awareness for the Syracuse University/State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

The students build, live in and sleep in the shacks for 24 hours. This is the third year the SU/ESF chapter of Habitat for Humanity has hosted the event, with more than 200 college students participating.

The event is designed to raise awareness for the need for affordable housing, as well as funding for a house Habitat for Humanity is constructing in Syracuse.

The shacks are made of plywood and plastic sheeting and each is decorated by the various student groups. After the event, four of the 12 shacks are donated to Youth United, a Habitat for Humanity program for youth, to auction them off. The remaining eight houses were donated to local families to serve as playhouses.