BATON ROUGE – Volunteers lifted up and nailed walls in place as dozens of LSU students worked to form the foundation of Tiffany Porter’s new home.
“It’s just a beautiful thing, and the fact that you are building your own home and helping and learning so many things in the process, sheetrock, sod, it’s everything,” said Porter, the recipient of the home being built.
LSU’s Greek organizations and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge started building two homes that will be finished in a week. Workers were sawing away and carrying the heavy planks of wood that will be used to build Porter’s new home.
“I think it’s a really cool opportunity to involve such a large community in a hands-on experience,” 2023 Greek Week Director Analiese Donovan said.
The two organizations have partnered for Greek Week since 2005. So far, they have provided thirty two homes to qualified low-income families in Baton Rouge.
“A lot of people get discouraged and may not feel that they can be a homeowner with their circumstances,” Porter said. “With me taking care of my father with dementia, I truly didn’t think that I would be able to do it, but my mother told me about Habitat when I was a kid and looking into it, it definitely is a beautiful thing to get people homes.”
Construction will continue throughout the week as many in Greek Life will continue using hammers and drills to make a difference.
“You can email the Greek Life office at LSU to be involved,” said Donovan. “It’s for Greek Students as our service opportunity so we’d love to see involvement throughout the week,.”
Overall, LSU Greek Life has helped 40 adults and 64 children find a safe, affordable place to live.
