UW Real Estate Club Celebrates with New Home Owners, UW Chapter of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County

On the afternoon of May 4, Real Estate Club members came full circle on a volunteer project when they attended a house blessing ceremony for a local Madison family.  During the academic year, the UW Real Estate Club volunteered for two half-day build events for the UW-Madison Chapter of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County.  The ceremony was to congratulate the Vang-Cheng Family on their new home (to be completely finished in June 2012).

Volunteering for the Habitat for Humanity organization is a good match for the interests and passions of real estate club members. The club members who worked on the Habitat house really valued the opportunity to support a local family, and to work side-by-side at the construction site with them on their new home. As noted by the Habitat organizers, the Vang-Cheng Family has been one of the hardest working families the UW chapter has seen in recent years. They dedicated 100+ volunteer building hours over the necessary volunteer requirement for Habitat families. Their dream for a spacious home where they can raise their 5 children has come true, and they expressed their sincere gratitude during the ceremony.

The UW Habitat chapter has received a national award from Habitat International for its innovative programs. To learn more about the UW-Madison Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, visit their website. From the UW Real Estate Club, we want to wish the Vang-Cheng family a very happy homecoming!

Real Estate Club Build Day with Habitat for Humanity!

On Friday, October 28, 2011, members from the UW Real Estate Club volunteered with the UW Madison Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds homes for families in need and provides mortgages at a zero percent interest rate. Included in the group were club members and Graaskamp Center affiliates Grant Keebler, Sam Schreiber, Kelsey Friederich, Alison Zuba, Courtney Flanders, and Martha Flanders (pictured left to right). We had gorgeous weather and a positive attitude - what better way to spend a beautiful Friday afternoon in Madison?

The house is being built for Song Vang (pictured far right), Neng Cheng, and their five adorable children. They currently live in an apartment building, infested with cockroaches and with landlords who do not care about their tenant’s living conditions. The family’s dream is to own a house one day with enough room for their children to grow up happy and healthy, in a loving and warm environment. Song devotes every weekend at the build site, working with different Madison volunteers and sharing his story. It was such a moving experience to work alongside the homeowner, Song, as his dream home was being built.

Construction began on October 1, 2011 and will continue into the winter. When we arrived, the basement was underway and we all worked on different projects ranging from measuring and cutting 2x4’s, nailing an interior wall together with three separate doorways, constructing the window supports, and a final (and very intense) group project involving the movement of a heavy shower base. The majority of the volunteers had minimal construction experience, so the day was spent learning from the other volunteer’s prior experience, from the projects director and UW-Madison Habitat representative Devin (pictured top left), from the homeowner Song, and from the project manager, Justin (pictured top right).

Working with Habitat for Humanity was an incredible experience, and is highly recommended by all of the volunteers who participated. If you are at UW student or employee and are interested in helping Song and Neng build their new home, contact Devin Burke at workprojects@uwhabitat.org. For more information about Real Estate Club volunteer opportunities, you can contact Courtney Flanders at flanders2@wisc.edu.