Roanoke College freshmen will build this year’s Habitat for Humanity home just blocks from campus when the 21st R House launches Friday, Aug. 21, in Salem.
Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley and Roanoke College will hold the launch at 10 a.m. at 215 Chapman St. The project marks a return to Salem for Habitat-Roanoke and will give incoming Roanoke College students the opportunity to build a home in the same community where they are beginning their college experience.
For 21 years, every incoming Roanoke College freshman has participated in R House as an introduction to the community and a hands-on service experience. Traditionally, students have built sections of a Habitat home on campus before the sections were transported to a permanent site elsewhere in the Roanoke Valley for assembly and completion.
This year, students will walk from campus to the construction site and help build the home from the ground up.
The City of Salem provided the lot for the project, removed the previous house on the property and helped prepare the site. The foundation is now in place and ready for the students to begin construction.
The project also marks Habitat-Roanoke’s first new home build in Salem since 2014. The organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Since 1986, Habitat-Roanoke has built 300 homes across the Roanoke Valley.
Salem’s ZIP code is Habitat-Roanoke’s second most supportive ZIP code for donors, adding significance to the organization’s return to homebuilding in the city.
R House is a longstanding partnership between Roanoke College and Habitat-Roanoke. For students, the project provides an early opportunity to work alongside their classmates on a tangible community service project while becoming acquainted with the community around their college.
