Our Crowdfunding Groups
Although this project has ended, if you would still like to make a donation to support Habitat for Humanity at Pitt, you may always do so here.
Get To Know Us!
We are Habitat for Humanity at Pitt and our mission is to work towards affordable housing in the Pittsburgh area. Every weekend, our members go to houses throughout Pittsburgh to continue our mission. This fall semester we have had workdays in Garfield, Millvale, and Armstrong. Our members have been so passionate about contributing that we’ve been going to multiple houses each weekend. At some houses, like with Open Hands in Garfield, we are demolishing walls so that later in the year we can build new and improved ones. At other houses like in Armstrong, we are working with their Habitat affiliate installing doors and painting rooms! 
This March, we get to go on our service trip as part of Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge where we will be working with Cape Fear’s Habitat for Humanity for the third straight year. We have made such a strong connection with them that both of our organizations are counting down the days till we get to work with each other again. Part of what makes the trip so special for us is that unlike in Pittsburgh, when we are working hard to renovate houses on our workdays, we get the opportunity to build a house from the ground up. This gives many of our members the opportunity to learn new skills that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives along with the connections we make and grow spending a week together working towards a common goal.
The Collegiate Challenge
Every March, a caravan of minivans leaves the cold, grey hills of Pittsburgh and travels south to build houses with Habitat for Humanity over spring break. This week of service is part of Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge program, which challenges college students to work directly with Habitat affiliates to further our vision of a world in which everyone has a simple, decent place to live.
Our Collegiate Challenge trips typically consist of 7 hour workdays on the build site, where we frame and raise the walls, install windows and doors, raise the roof trusses and shingle the roof, among dozens of other small and large jobs--whatever’s needed to make the house complete. It’s a great chance for all of us to learn new skills--whether it’s simply hammering a nail for the first time or framing an entire wall of the house. 
We frequently work alongside the future homeowners, who are required to put at least 300 hours of “sweat equity” into their new homes, and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to connect with them. Hearing their stories is very inspiring, and it always energizes our members to continue supporting the cause of affordable housing long after we’ve returned to campus.
How You Can Help
We are asking for your support to help our group of 25 students travel to Wilmington, North Carolina to serve with Habitat for Humanity. We hope to substantially reduce the cost of the trip so that everyone who wants to attend the trip is able to do so, regardless of their financial situation. Your generous donation to our campaign will help cover:
Every little bit helps, and we are very thankful for your generous support! We cannot wait to update you with stories and pictures from our week of service. Even if you are unable to donate at this time, sharing our page with your networks is an immediate way to show your support. Thank you so much for your consideration!
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Contributions received for this project shall be used in accordance with the purpose described herein, the terms in the FAQs and applicable law. For questions that cannot be answered in the FAQs, please call 412-648-4658 or email engage@pitt.edu.
Habitat for Humanity was founded by Clarence Jordan, Linda Fuller, and Millard Fuller in 1976 when they held their first meeting in a converted chicken barn in South Georgia.
Cape Fear’s Habitat for Humanity, our partners for our last two service trips and our upcoming one, has been proudly serving the communities of Wilmington, North Carolina for over 36 years.
President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn first volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in 1984. Not only did they help Habitat expand to every state of the US and 70 total countries, they themselves have helped to build, renovate, and repair 3,944 Habitat homes in 14 different countries.
Habitat relies heavily on volunteers not only for building the actual house, but also for food, drink, and supply donations. This donation will pay for the participation fee of one volunteer!
In the 30+ years of Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge, they have had more than 260,000 volunteers participate! Help us add even more volunteers to the tally.
On March 22nd, 2022 MacKenzie Scott donated $436 million, the largest donation in the history of Habitat for Humanity. It was spread between 84 different affiliates of Habitat.
Our service trip will begin and end with a flock of vans filled to the brim with students and luggage traveling 564 miles between Pittsburgh and Wilmington. It's not the destination, it's the journey.
Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge has made a difference in the lives of more than 1,000 families by providing them with simple and affordable housing.
