Right now, we have about 24 volunteers, RAs, and students that live in housing that are here building today.
They're working on the shingles, and the inside of the house, setting up the walls
Two weeks ago, we started with a slab of concrete
and many stacks of lumber, and by the end of the day, the students had the walls up
trusses up, and wood on the roof.
We had about 80-90 the first Saturday--
We'll have about 50 out here today.
Each Saturday, we'll need fewer students as the house progresses.
In the end, we'll have about 150 students that will have worked on the house.
We raise money every fall through a number of fund-raising efforts
with the students in charge in each building of raising money
This is our ninth house.
It's really...I really can't put into words what it's like to give a family a house, a home
Their first home. The family's a great family.
To wake up at 7:00 in the morning to do this
Any other time, I might be like, "Uh, I might not go,"
But for a family...I jump up to wake up for this!
It's a lot of fun.
Really makes me feel good to come out in whatever weather it is, just to help this family out.
We had the RAs sign up first, and then get them to recruit residents
They're wanting to get involved. They're asking questions--
They're the ones sending emails to me like, "Hey, are there still spots available?
They make the process a lot easier.
I was kind of nervous. I was like, "They want me with a hammer?" But it actually worked out.
The supervisor and safety guys they've got really help you to make sure you know what you're doing
and really have fun with it.
My favorite has got to be putting the walls up.
'Cause that was the first thing I did, and I was nervous...
and I was like, "I don't want to hit my finger on this nail...please, I don't want to do anything wrong!"
"If this wall goes up and falls over it's my fault!"
But like I said, they give you confidence--and once you got started, it was so much fun.
Seeing that wall go up was like...amazing.
It amazes me of the skills of our students as they work on the various projects
from roofing to putting up walls, and nailing two-by-fours.
It's certainly a tribute also to our students that they would raise the money for this house
get the RAs actively involved in that process,
and then come out here and completely build it for the University of Tennessee.
That surely shows the dedication of the university students to our community,
and to helping make a difference in the world that we live in.