Tech’s Habitat for Humanity Club is helping raise $100,000 to build a house using volunteers at Cooking on the Square on Friday.
The student club is setting up a booth on Sweet Street and helping recruit volunteers for other booths, Tech Habitat President Hope Craig said. Four thousand people are expected to attend.
“We serve solely to support the Upper Cumberland Habitat for Humanity. At the end of the semester, we send a large chunk of our money to them as extra support. We keep some to keep the club at Tech running,”Craig said.
The Tech club helps the Upper Cumberland Habitat by selling T-shirts, recruiting students to build houses and advertising for upcoming events.
The Upper Cumberland Habitat is a nonprofit organization created in 1995 to help families build and renovate homes. Cooking on the Square began in 1998 and funded its first home from the fundraiser in 2001, according to the Upper Cumberland Habitat website.
“Home building is the main goal. We’re trying to build more homes per year, and also do outreach programs to help people get back on their feet. Cookeville is growing so much,”Craig said.
“We believe that everybody deserves a place to call home. The main goal is to raise as much money as possible and shuffle it all towards the Upper Cumberland Habitat. We help build the homes, and it’s awesome to see that’s where our money is going. Someone will be calling it a home,”Craig said.
Cooking on the Square is from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tickets before the event are on sale at the Habitat ReStore located in Cookeville and local banks for $20 or at the event for $25.
