College students will build a tiny house on the University of Puget Sound campus on Saturday, April 7, and Sunday, April 8, and donate it to a tiny house village for those in the region without homes. Photographers and the press are welcome to come along.

This is such a worthy cause that the Habitat for Humanity student chapter organizers attracted building talent and muscle not only from student clubs, sports teams, Greek houses, and campus staff—but from Jones Hall, in the form of Puget Sound President Isiaah Crawford.

Construction will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. over the two days, in the parking lot behind Wheelock Student Center on N. 14th Street, off N. Alder Street. President Crawford will roll up his sleeves and pitch in from 10 a.m.–12 noon on Saturday, April 7.

The tiny house will be donated to the Low Income Housing Institute, which has been coordinating with partners and volunteers in the construction of 200 tiny houses for seven Seattle sites since 2015. The need is still far from met. The 2017 Seattle/King County Count Us In survey estimates there are nearly 5,500 people who are homeless and without shelter in the region.

Habitat for Humanity Puget Sound Chapter Co-President Elise Phillips ’18 says, “Tiny houses are one potential solution for helping people off the street and into a stable shelter with an address. We hope to contribute in a small way to the reduction of homelessness through the building of these tiny house communities.”

The project is being funded by the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound and with help from Gray Lumber, who subsidized building materials.

– University of Puget Sound