Starting Thursday, student volunteers will build houses in the Osage Place neighborhood in southwest Bloomington for the 15th annual Whirlpool Habitat Build.
The event is a collaboration between IU Kelley School of Business, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County and Whirlpool Corporation, a home appliance company.
While Kelley students are encouraged to volunteer, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County President and CEO Wendi Goodlett said the opportunity is open to all students.
From Oct. 16 to Nov. 1, volunteers will frame five homes with funding from the Whirlpool Foundation’s BuildBetter program, which offers grants to Habitat for Humanity affiliates to build energy-efficient and climate-resilient homes.
BuildBetter homes are designed to reduce costs for homeowners by keeping the energy bill as close to zero as possible with improved construction materials like insulation, windows, or heating and cooling systems.
The yearly event started in 2010 under the direction of now-retired Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig, a Kelley graduate. Since then, the program has built 14 homes and housed 50 people. To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the collaboration, Fettig and other organizers will attend a public celebration Oct. 18 at the build site. Rosa Skinner, the global senior manager of corporate social responsibility and community relations for Whirlpool Corporation, said volunteer employees from Whirlpool will work alongside students, faculty and staff.
“It really provides a unique opportunity for students to engage with us and have some workforce development,” Skinner said.
Skinner said Whirlpool will be recruiting for its BUILD Emerging Leaders Program, which provides workforce development and networking opportunities for freshmen and sophomores pursuing a bachelor’s degree and interested in careers in engineering or business.
The volunteers will also be joined by the future homeowners, who are required to contribute 250 hours of volunteer work as part of Habitat for Humanity’s “sweat equity” program, which aims to involve homeowners in the construction process, Goodlett said.
The last house will go to Bloomington residents Onga Masumbuko, Emmanuel Ngongo Kanamuli and their four children. The family is from the Republic of the Congo, but they came to Bloomington from Burundi, a country in east Africa, where they spent 23 years as refugees, Skinner said.
Students can volunteer or learn more at Kelley School of Business’s website.
