Findlay, Ohio, April 1, 2004 — Approximately 75 students, faculty and staff of The University of Findlay and Winebrenner Theological Seminary along with other Hancock County residents will construct and sleep overnight in a cardboard “Box City” in the front of the UF’s Old Main on Saturday, April 3, 2004, as a way to raise awareness of poverty, homelessness, inadequate housing and the work of Habitat for Humanity, the international non-profit agency whose goal it is to eliminate poverty housing worldwide.

A collaborative project of the University’s Campus Compact Center for Service & Learning, the University’s Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the Findlay-Hancock County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, “Box City” is part of “HabiFest,” which is a nationwide, student-initiated day of advocating for affordable housing.

The University of Findlay’s Campus Habitat for Humanity Chapter has been very active this semester, just returning from a six-day alternative spring break trip to Naples, Fla., the home of second largest Habitat for Humanity affiliate, where the group of 15 students and faculty helped in the ongoing construction of a 125-home Habitat for Humanity subdivision.

Many of the students who participated in the trip were also members of a 2003 course at the University that focused on local and national housing policies, homelessness and building community. The trip allowed these students to tie their classroom learning with hands-on experience, thus encouraging “service-learning,” a growing initiative at The University of Findlay and many other colleges and universities.

The “Box City” event at UF will begin in front of Old Main at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 3, 2004, with the construction of the cardboard homes and will include the distribution of information on housing issues and homelessness as well as student- and community-led presentations on affordable housing and the mission of Habitat. The University of Findlay is one of seven other Ohio colleges and universities participating in HabiFest.