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Pepperdine students and staff were on site Saturday, as an active part of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Habitat for Humanity Ventura County’s (HFHVC) Villa Caesar Chavez Farmworker Housing Project. They were not only volunteers, but also house sponsors. Through a tentative grant from the Wood-Claeysson Foundation, Pepperdine will sponsor the building of one the houses in the HFHVC’s newest project.
Through a partnership with Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation (CEDC), HFHVC will build six homes for farmworker’s families. In addition to the moderate- to low-income homes, financial coaching will be given to all farmworkers in Ventura County. All the families have already been selected and they will be helping with the entire construction process.
While actual construction is not expected to begin until January, the sponsorship of a house by the Pepperdine community allows for all students on campus to become involved in the project.
Assistant professor of management Regan Schaffer, a speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony, was also the staff member responsible for the Wood-Claeysson.
“This project is a campus-wide activity, and students from all majors and interests are encouraged to be a part of this project,” Schaffer said. “We are hoping to get multiple clubs and classes involved, not only in the construction of the houses, but also in services such as tutoring the children of the families.”
The groundbreaking ceremony featured speakers including the executive director of HFHVC, Annette Houchin, Oxnard mayor Tom Holden, Oxnard City Councilmember John Zaragosa, Karen Flock of the CEDC and Gretchen Biasotti, a Women Build chairperson. There were also four children, Gabriel Silva Morales, Lyanne Silva, Jesus Villegas and Leticia Villegas, from the families who will be receiving the houses. Directly following the speeches, each of the family members was given a shovel and together they broke the ground on their new homes and futures.
Each house built by Habitat for Humanity must be sponsored by a group or company from the community. Other sponsors besides Pepperdine for the Villa Caesar Chavez project include Weyerhaeuser, a building materials provider, and Women Build, a program that encourages and trains women to become involved with the construction of Habitat for Humanity projects.
Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit Christian housing ministry organization created in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller to provide housing to underprivileged families. With more than 175,000 houses built worldwide, the organization has gone above and beyond this call with the help of thousands of volunteers every year.
Contrary to popular belief, Habitat for Humanity does not simply give away the houses they build. Partner families are carefully selected based on their immediate need for housing with no means to acquire long-term shelter. They are required to invest a total of 500 hours of “sweat equity” service to the project, both building their own homes and the homes of others.
After the homes are built, the buildings are sold to the families with no-profit, no interest affordable loans usually over a period of seven to 30 years. The family’s monthly mortgage payment goes directly to building more houses through the organization.
Several Pepperdine students were on hand at the ceremony from the school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. This group of students works closely with the Habitat for Humanity organization for the improvement of society through empowerment and positive change, according to senior Nicole Peterson, a member of the board of directors at Habitat for Humanity Ventura County.
Habitat has been a big part of Peterson’s college experience.
“Being a part of Habitat makes you realize that it’s everyone’s responsibility to understand that we are all blessed and that we sometimes take that for granted,” Peterson said. “We have a responsibility to those in hard situations to help them the best that we can. I believe our purpose is to help people out.”
Besides being involved in local projects around the Los Angeles area, Pepperdine’s chapter will also be taking a team of students to complete a Habitat project as part of the Pepperdine Volunteer Center’s Project Serve spring break program. The location will be decided near the end of this month.
Students can inquire at the PVC located in the Tyler Campus Center if they have any interest in becoming part of the Habitat for Humanity effort. They can also call ext. 4143.
Submitted 10-06-2005
MALIBU, CA
