The University of South Carolina’s Habitat for Humanity chapter doesn’t just build homes, it also builds futures.
Every semester three to four homes are built by unpaid volunteers, many of whom are USC students donating their time, skills and energy to the cause of affordable housing.
USC’s Habitat for Humanity chapter is led by club president Ria Kothari, a junior biochemistry and molecular biology student from Kingsport, Tennessee.
Kothari hadn’t even heard of Habitat for Humanity before she came to USC and began working with the club her freshman year. She was elected vice president her sophomore year and began to think about ways the club could do more in the Midlands area of South Carolina. As president, she has worked to strengthen the club’s relationship with the Columbia community and the Midlands chapter of Habitat.
“We have a very strong partnership,” Kothari says. “Our chapter is one of the key groups that goes out and volunteers for the Midlands Habitat. We're consistently going out almost every week in some way or another.
“We work collaboratively with them to help set up different kinds of events, to increase volunteering from others in the community and to increase our impact.”
The Habitat for Humanity chapter at USC works directly with the Midlands chapter to organize builds, support the Habitat retail shop and ensure a smooth transition and support for housing beneficiaries.
“I wanted to be able to get my hands dirty and see the work I was doing actually develop in my community and get to meet the people I was helping. USC and Habitat for Humanity gave me that opportunity.”
One of the most rewarding parts of volunteering with Habitat is being a part of a family’s journey from selection to move-in, Kothari says. Students participate in events, including barbecues, holidays and other celebrations to make people feel welcome in their new homes and communities.
“We keep connecting and see who we're actually helping to recenter us on our mission for affordable housing,” Kothari says.
Key to recruiting students — especially those living on campus — is to get them to see what is going on in the community.
“Our chapter allows us to get out of our bubble on campus and see what is going on in our community,” Kothari says. “When we go out to different events or go out to an actual build site, you can see that there's a lot of people in our community who need some help with getting affordable housing.
“And it helps us become a little bit more aware that that's a problem that exists in our community.”
Habitat welcomes individual volunteers or one-off Service Saturday volunteers and would love to work with other campus organizations to get their members involved.
Kothari hopes the club continues to grow and says the goal for the upcoming semester is to increase their build average to six houses finished each semester.
“I wanted to be able to get my hands dirty and see the work I was doing actually develop in my community and get to meet the people I was helping,” Kothari says. “USC and Habitat for Humanity gave me that opportunity.”