Roanoke College is currently building its 20th R house in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, while the Roanoke Valley is on its way to having completed 300 houses in total.
Roanoke College has been in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity for years, however they began the R House partnership in 2005.
This collaboration allows for students to have a tangible local experience the moment they enter Roanoke College. It connects them to a community that they will continue to influence during their time at the college. According to the Roanoke College website, the college wants students to participate in active citizenship, and the R House project is how they first exemplify this.
However, you can still be involved with Habitat for Humanity even after freshman orientation. Roanoke College has a Habitat for Humanity club with over 200 members. This club takes routine trips every Saturday to continue building the 20th R House. Maple Landis-Browne, a junior at Roanoke College, spearheads the program.
Maple has been working with Habitat for Humanity in collaboration with Roanoke college for over a year. She takes her fellow students on the weekly building trips, and is able to mentor other students through this.
“It’s exciting when I see people from summer orientation come back during the school year, it shows that it has influenced them enough for them to come back,” Maple said. She emphasizes that the program is a formative experience for freshmen to connect with the community, and it continues to influence through all four years.
Maple talked about how the people involved in the movement are the heart of the program. The Roanoke Habitat Builders Club, made of mostly older Roanoke citizens, as well as the future homeowner of the 20th R House, have shown her the good that the collaboration brings to the community. She has been able to learn construction techniques from the Builders Club that she has then been able to relay to the volunteers from Roanoke College. She has also had the time to connect with the homeowner, and in doing so has made the community effort more personal.
“This is also a great way to meet people that you wouldn’t otherwise meet on campus,” Maple said. She explained that she gets to interact with students that she hasn’t seen around campus. This brings together students into a like mindset, and strengthens the sense of community on a small campus.
As mentioned before, Roanoke College takes trips to the 20th R House every Saturday at 7:30am. Maple sends out information in emails to Habitat for Humanity Club members, and those who reply get the opportunity to volunteer. “I start my weekend off giving back to my community,” Maple says.
Roanoke College also allows for other opportunities for community service, such as Alternative Break trips. This fall break, the Center of Civic Engagement is offering a trip to Boone, North Carolina to help with hurricane relief. This trip will run from Friday, October 10th to Wednesday, October 15th.
If you are interested in the Alternative Break trip or joining the Habitat for Humanity Club for other service opportunities, please contact the Center of Civic Engagement at griffin@roanoke.edu or Maple Landis-Browne at mmlandisbrowne@mail.roanoke.edu.
Kara Hopkins
News Editor
