For Immediate Release

Oct. 1, 2010 Contact: Maria Mayorga

Public Relations Director
(910)232-2198
Maria.mayorga7@gmail.com

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL TO HOST

BUILD A BLOCK KICKOFF CEREMONY

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – UNC Build a Block will host a kickoff ceremony to celebrate
the start of a yearlong housing project on Sunday, Oct.10 at 3 p.m. The event will
take place at Phoenix Place, which is located off of Rogers Road, stemming from
Homestead Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

UNC Build a Block is a university-wide initiative through UNC Habitat for Humanity
to raise enough money and provide enough volunteer labor to build 10 houses for
10 UNC employee families who currently live in substandard housing. The
student-led program will last 10 months, spanning the 2010 to 2011 academic
school year.

The initiative was created after statistics revealed that 85 percent of individuals
applying for homes through Habitat for Humanity of Orange County were UNC
employees. The startling news attracted the attention of Patti Thorp, the wife of
UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, and other community members including students,
faculty members and staff.

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Since Habitat for Humanity volunteers generally build two homes per year, UNC
student groups joined efforts to raise $350,000, which will cover the construction
costs of 10 homes for employees. The “champion” donor groups – those giving a
minimum of $35,000 to the project – include the General Alumni Association,
Rams Club, UNC Hospitals, Kenan Flagler Business School, UNC Greeks,
Carolina Library Community and UNC Habitat for Humanity Club.

UNC students and faculty members who wish to participate in Build a Block or
donate to the cause can visit www.uncbuildablock.org. Volunteers can sign up in
groups or as individuals for building efforts that will take place each Friday and
Saturday.

For more information about UNC Build A Block, contact project Co-Director Leah
Vance at leahdvance@gmail.com or the Campus Outreach and Advocacy
Committee at powersm@email.unc.edu.

About Habitat for Humanity of Orange County:

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity
International and works locally to select and support homeowners, organize
volunteers and coordinate house building efforts. The organization has just
completed its 25th year of building homes for almost 200 families in Orange
County. Learn more at www.orangehabitat.org.

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