Notre Dame ’ s own Habitat chapter to start

The Notre Dame chapter o f Habitat for Humanity hopes to break ground this spring w ith the foundation for a house in the Northeast neighborhood of South Bend. The w a lkw a ys o f cam pus have only ju s t recently been cleared of this semester’s first barrage o f snow and already a group o f students are looking forw ard to warm er climates— for the recipients of their chari­ table home building efforts. It is not the beaches of Cancun or a house on the coast, be it east or west, that binds their antici­ pation. On the c o n tra ry , H ab it fo r Hum anity p a rtic ip a n ts ’ plans are selfless when held up to these material vices. Habitat for Humanity is an in­ te rna tiona l organ ization tha t describes themselves as “ an ecum enical grass-roots m in ­ istry w ith the goal of e lim inat­ ing p ove rty h o u s in g .” The organization relies on volunteer la b o r, donated m a te r ia ls as well as monetary donations to accomplish their projects. According to a brochure pub­ lished by the St. Joseph County c h a p te r o f H a b ita t fo r H u m a n ity , “ 11 h e ] ty p ic a l Habitat fam ily has an income too h igh to q u a lify fo r some assistance but too low for con­ ventional home financing. ” The tenants of Habitat hous­ ing accept the responsibility of repaying the cost of the house over a fixed period o f tim e. Their payments are then recy­ cled in to a ro ta tin g fund fo r fu tu re houses. No in terest is photo courtesy of Erica Quinn Justin Gaul, a Notre Dame sophomore, is seen here helping build a home this past summer in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. A Jimmy Carter work project, this Habit for Humanity home went up within five days on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Notre Dame’s own Habitat for Humanity chapter will operate separately from the St. Joseph County chapter this spring for the first time.