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The Rice Thresher
Phone:
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by AALOK MEHTA FOR THE THRESHER
Students passed an initiative to donate the defunct blanket tax money during the Student Association General Elections, which ended Feb. 23. Prentice sponsored the initiative. The actual transfer of the funds occurred Wednesday. The total cost for a new house is $50,000, and the Houston Habitat for Humanity chapter plans to pay the other $18,000. Jerry Kovaly, volunteer coordinator for Houston Habitat, confirmed that the foundation for the house has already been laid. The house will be located at 10134 Porto Rico Rd., a switch from earlier plans to build at Halpurn and Maury Streets. "We are very pleased and very happy to be working with Rice," Kovaly said. "This is what Habitat is all about - working with the community to provide low-cost housing." He said a dedication ceremony to thank Rice for its donation is planned later in the construction, sometime before commencement. Volunteer work will proceed for about five weeks. Twenty-five people are needed for each week for a morning shift from 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and an afternoon shift from 12 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Teams of volunteers will be responsible for putting up walls, roofing, insulation, siding, and doors and windows, Prentice said. Subcontractors will then spend three more weeks after Rice volunteers finish to complete the house. Students interested in volunteering for the house can talk to their Habitat college representatives or attend a general information meeting March 13 at 10 p.m. in the Student Center. "We'll be giving away a free T-shirt to everyone that comes out to the Rice House," Dan Hosler, volunteer coordinator for Rice Habitat, said. The organization will also be placing a banner above the entrance of Fondren Library. Prentice said that Habitat has also been able to secure an additional $2,000 from Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho's officers. This will be used for overhead costs, tools and T-shirts. Rice has exclusive right to provide all volunteers for the house, although it is likely that the future owners of the house will be working alongside students. Faculty, staff and graduate students will volunteer at the site April 1. Hosler said the owners for the house have already been selected but that their names will not be released until Houston Habitat has fully informed them of the situation. After city inspectors check the house, the keys will be given to the new owners in a brief ceremony, tentatively scheduled for mid-May. "Everyone who voted for this house, it's your money," Prentice said. "Now come build it." - back -
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of: The Rice Thresher, Rice University MS-524, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA. The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu |
