While competitive fairness and equity are concepts student-athletes understand well, more than a dozen Minnesota student-athletes recently got a hands-on, eye-opening experience that provided insight into how Habitat for Humanity continues to improve both in the housing market.
On April 15, Minnesota student-athletes and athletics staff members worked on homes in the Minneapolis community through a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and the NCAA, stemming from a $2.5 million commitment made by the Association in 2018. It marks the third NCAA-sponsored build of the 2022-23 academic year.
"It's so amazing," Niamya Holloway, a freshman for the Minnesota women's basketball team, said of the experience. "Especially for me and my family, we aren't homeowners yet, and that's one of my mom's biggest goals. We've had to move a few times, and we've had housing struggles. Being here and building homes for people that were once like my family, I think it's just so important. I just love to give back."
As part of the build event, attendees heard from Juanita Jensen, an employee at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, who has lived in a home Habitat for Humanity refurbished 30 years ago. Jensen spoke to the student-athletes about the power a home can have on a family, especially children, and the impact their volunteer work will have on others.
"It was actually very moving to hear what Juanita had to say," said Finn Schirmer, a men's track and field student-athlete and president of Minnesota's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. "I didn't really know much about Habitat for Humanity before this. Watching her speak, it just shows the impact that these houses actually have on people that you may not see during the build process. I consider myself blessed to have heard what she has to say. It's so important."
The volunteers worked on two buildings with four housing units each on a site that was donated to the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity affiliate. The Gophers on site worked in small teams on jobs that included drywall prep and installation work.
As part of the Habitat for Humanity experience, student-athletes worked on two buildings with four housing units each on a site that was donated to the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity affiliate.
"I learned a lot about how to put a house together. I had no idea. I didn't have any experience building homes before or working on the interior of a home. It was really fun to just have an inside view of what goes into building a home. But it was just really, really meaningful, too," said Jennifer Callinan, director of career services and relations for Minnesota athletics. "What I hope (student-athletes) take away from today is that what they're doing by being here, showing up and being engaged, means more than they can imagine."
Another building the same size will be constructed on the site, with a total of 12 family units to be completed. The affiliate hopes to finish the development by 2025, which will continue its mission to bring people together to create, preserve and promote affordable homeownership and advance racial equity in housing. Since 1985, more than 1,600 families have partnered with Twin Cities Habitat to unlock the transformational power of homeownership.
The student-athletes on site worked in small teams on jobs that included drywall prep and installation work.
