Alyx Lingenfelter
UNK Habitat president, lingenfeltar@lopers.unk.edu
Lego houses made in the Lego Building Competition on the University of Nebraska at Kearney Wednesday night will help provide local families a place to call home.
The event, which is sponsored by UNK Habitat, a UNK student chapter of Habitat for Humanity, will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, in the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room. Funds raised at the event will go to UNK Habitat, Kearney Area Habitat for Humanity and the International Habitat for Humanity.
“This is our annual event where teams pay $10 to build the coolest house out of Legos, which we provide, and three people from the Kearney Area Habitat for Humanity come out to judge,” said Alyx Lingenfelter of Roca, president of UNK Habitat. First, second and third place winners will receive prizes.
“Helping out with Habitat for Humanity probably will not help me with my wildlife biology major directly, but indirectly it has helped me be truly grateful for what I have and has allowed me to meet some pretty amazing people,” Lingenfelter said. “I have never felt more appreciated than by the families I worked alongside building their homes.”
In Kearney, the building season for Habitat for Humanity runs from the end of March to around Thanksgiving. Last year, the group was able to build homes for three families in the Kearney community.
During the current off season, members of UNK Habitat have finished seven picnic tables, which are used by the volunteers at breakfast and lunch. The group will soon begin work on a yard shed for one family who received a Habitat home.
The UNK organization has approximately 25 members. Members meet the first and third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Sandhills Room in the Nebraskan Student Union, in addition to helping build homes, picnic tables and yard sheds.
“Anyone (student) is welcome to come,” Lingenfelter said. “Once you have come to two meetings, and work a total of 10 hours either by coming to meetings, or helping with fundraising or at the build site, you can pay $5 for a t-shirt and become a member of UNK Habitat.”
UNK Habitat recently elected officers. The officers, who will serve in their offices until the end of the 2011 fall semester, and a number of the members, are listed below, alphabetically by hometown:
Officers
Cozad – Kyle Gibbens, vice president
Kearney – Kaitlyn Darveau, treasurer
McCook – Cori O’Dea, program chair
Pierce – Kathy Venteicher, secretary
Roca – Alyx Lingenfelter, president
Among the members of UNK Habitat are,
Albion – Megan Warner
Bennington – Katie Pearson
Central City – Noah Broekemier, Noland Broekemier
Dorchester – Adam Kahle
Fort Calhoun – Kathleen Tinkham
Genoa – Brandon Drodz
Grand Island – Kristin Klanecky
Hastings – Whitney Nelson
McCook – Emily Slattery
Omaha – Derek Comba
Scottsbluff – Justin Vogel
St. Paul – Krista Sheer
Out of State
Colorado
Fort Collins – Kayla Kimberling
Kansas
Phillipsburg – Kady Malmberg
International
South Korea – Jaehuyn Kim, Seoyoung Moon
