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Members of Habitat UMaine camped on the mall at the University of Maine for three days and two nights, around the clock, to raise funds and awareness for the many area families who live in sub-standard housing during the freezing Maine winter.
The campout, Snow Place Like Home, was organized by student group Habitat UMaine and benefits Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor, which finished its 13th
house in October.
“At the end of the year, we send them money we have raised to help with houses they are building and projects they are doing,” said Lindsay Begley, fourth-year child development and family relations student and treasurer for Habitat UMaine.
Habitat UMaine is made up of all third- and fourth-year female students who hope to recruit a younger and more diverse group before they graduate. The organization raises funds, builds awareness of sub-standard housing in Maine and volunteers with the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor ReStore in Holden.
“We work at the ReStore, which is like a thrift shop for housewares like sinks and mirrors and everything you would need [for home improvement],” Begley said.
Habitat UMaine members spend a few days on the mall each year in a shanty, assembled from materials from the ReStore with no insulation, only sleeping bags and a small woodstove to keep warm at night.
“We want a visual to show people what inadequate housing would be for someone who doesn’t have all the necessary materials to survive a cold Maine winter. Lack of insulation and stuff like that,” Begley said. “It’s not necessarily realistic of something people would live in, but it gets the point across that there are plenty of people in Bangor living in not ideal situations.”
The group decided to try holding Snow Place Like Home in December this year as opposed to February, when they camped out last year. Higher temperatures made for a more pleasant experience for the campers.
“We figured we would try something different,” Begley said. “It was a little more enjoyable because the weather has been a bit warmer, but we still got our point across.”
Though temperatures ranged between 30 and 50 degrees on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the campers had to contend with rain and snow.
“Wednesday night when we stayed out, it was a windy, rainy night. Thankfully there was no leaking; only a few drops came in, but the wind shakes the tarp really loudly,” said Amanda Missud, fourth-year business management student and Habitat UMaine president. “You don’t really sleep that soundly.”
Missud and the other campers were thankful for sleeping bags provided by Maine Bound and wood for their fire from the Woodsmen’s Team. The Steiners, a cappella group on campus, gave the campers a performance Thursday night.
Habitat UMaine had support from off campus organizations as well, though not as much as they had hoped. The group sent 60 solicitation letters to potential sponsors in the great Bangor area, according to Missud. Murray’s Service Center in Orono and Sappi Fine Paper were the only businesses to respond.
Students and faculty who donated to the cause placed shingles with their names on a miniature house displayed next to the shanty. Although half the roof was shingled, Missud said Snow Place Like Home hadn’t raised as much as the group had hoped. Last year’s campout raised over $1,000, but this year it has brought in only $525.
“We didn’t get as much because of economic reasons and because in past years we’ve gone door to door,” Missud said. “This year we wanted to try something new and I don’t think it worked quite as well. We’re still experimenting with how best to approach local businesses and ask for help.”
The UMaine commemorative ornament program may help Habitat UMaine to make up some of the gap between last year’s and this year’s earnings, according to Missud.
Each year, the University Bookstore commissions a commemorative holiday ornament and donates all proceeds from its sale to a worthy student organization. This year, that organization is Habitat UMaine.
“I got an e-mail saying we were selected this year for the ornament. I had never even heard of it before,” Missud said. “When we went to the unveiling, we learned that every penny goes straight to us.”
Missud expressed gratitude for the ornament program and said, “It’s like a bonus on top of what we made here.”
She emphasized that while fundraising is important, Habitat UMaine is more concerned with educating the campus community.
“The point is to raise awareness that someone may not have insulation in their house, or their windows are from 1842, or they can’t afford oil for a month,” Missud said.
The campers say their message is hitting the mark this year.
“We’ve had more interest in what we’re doing. In the past, people have just walked past, looked at us and run away,” Missud said. “This year people are stopping to ask questions and donate a dollar. Every little bit helps.”
Increased awareness of housing issues may be due in part to the economic hardship that so many Maine people are facing this year.
“I think it’s definitely on peoples’ minds a lot more than a few years ago, it has become more of a concern,” Begley said.
Fourth-year sociology student Dana Buckley told a story of a student who took an interest in their cause.
“All our wood got wet and we couldn’t get a fire going, a random girl walked by us and she had extra wood from another event,” Buckley said. “She went and got it for us and we had a fire. It was nice, because there was nothing in it for her. She just saw we were struggling.”
This is just one example of the interest students are taking in the issue of sub-standard housing this year.
“We have a lot of positive support,” Buckley said. “It’s really refreshing to have people who don’t know us be willing to help.”
Bangor Daily News