"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." -Goethe
Habitat for Humanity does much more than just build houses; we serve as a voice for affordable housing. Educational Advocacy involves educating our peers and our community, our local legislators and decision makers, and our family and friends about the need for Habitat and possible solutions to the housing crisis. We strive to be involved in direct advocacy about housing and poverty issues worldwide to enact lasting change.
Our chapter has a lot of great advocacy and educational programs planned and brainstormed for this upcoming year. If you or someone you know would like to help plan one of these events, please e-mail MSUHabitatforHumanity@gmail.com. If your student organization would like to co-sponsor one of these events, please e-mail our secretary at Rachel1027@missouristate.edu. If your company or place of business would like to sponsor one of these events, please click here.
- HFHI Speaker- On Monday, September 14, we will be hosting a speaker from Habitat for Humanity, International in PSU 314 AB. They will be speaking on issues relating to HFH and our Public Affairs Week theme, "Evolving Economic Realities".
- Legislative Awareness- We host letter campaigns and petition drives regarding upcoming legislative issues. We'll also send letters to various entities in our community to spread awareness. Form letters and petitions can be found on Habitat.org. YOU can sign up to be an advocate here. It's simple! Every once and a while, you'll receive e-mail notifications asking you to insert your name on a pre-written form. You'll then insert your zip code and the system will automatically generate the letter to your representative. It's that easy, but it makes a huge difference in our fight to build hope.
- World Habitat Day- The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October as annual World Habitat Day. On this day, we reaffirm that adequate shelter is a basic human right and we focus on the conditions of cities and towns around the world. We also use this day to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. On October 5, 2009, join us in support of World Habitat Day, as we raise our voices and declare that the lack of decent, affordable housing is unacceptable. Durable, adequate housing can and should be made a priority everywhere--in your community, in your town, in your country, in our world. Click here for more information or e-mail worldhabitatday@habitat.org.
- Act!Speak!Build!Week- ASBW is a week-long event focused on advocacy efforts. It is an international, student-initiated advocacy campaign that empowers young people to educate themselves and their communities, in order to move people to social action. This year, Habitat International is leaving it up to each chapter to decide when they would like their ASBW to be. For our chapter, we have chosen to conduct this event the week of April 5-10, 2010--the week before the spring Public Affairs Conference and the week before we dedicate our house to the homeowners. There are endless possibilities for events we can do with this week. Typically, we combine other events listed here. Click here for more information.
- Poverty Plywood- We'll sit in a high-traffic area with a large piece of plywood, asking passersby to sign the plywood. This plywood will then be built into a Habitat home. At the same time, we'll be creating a mouthpiece to dialogue about Habitat issues and will distribute related documents.
- Cyber Cafe- An event where we set up laptop computers at a central location and ask visitors to sign up as online advocates for Habitat at www.habitat.org/gov.
- Make it Real- We create visual representations of a current poverty statistic. The visual representation illustrates the magnitude of poverty in our community, state, country, or world. We'll display it in a high-traffic area and accompany it with a explanation and informational handouts.
- Movie Showings- We show movies and YouTube videos on campus related to Habitat's mission to end poverty housing.
- Spread the Truth- We'll spend the day handing out fliers and poverty statistics on campus to raise awareness about affordable housing.
- Shack-in-the-box/Habifest/Sleepout for the Homeless- Whatever you call it, this event is a great way to spread awareness about poverty housing. Groups commit to building one or more boxed houses and then we spend a night having a sleep out in our community.
- Welcome Home Housing Simulation- This event is an educational resource in which participants role play a homeless individual searching for housing. Each participant is assigned a character with a distinct economic profile, family history, and biography and seeks housing from representatives including apartment complexes, public housing, rescue missions, and private home builders. Participants learn about the housing market and experience some of the frustrations low-income individuals experience when looking for housing. The Welcome Home Housing Simulation can be downloaded for free here. The document includes all the necessary elements of the simulation including instructions, participant character handouts, leader handouts, application worksheets, and discussion questions.
- Media Announcements- Members write and distribute press releases, letters to the editor, pitch letters, etc., trying to get the media to cover our build projects. Members also write pieces on poverty issues and submit them to local newspapers. Templates are available.
- Panel Discussions- We organize panel discussions with members of our community related to the topic of poverty issues. More information can be found here.
- Candlelight Vigil- This year, we'd like to host a candlelight vigil to help spread awareness. This is a great way for groups to reflect on poverty and the impact it has on our lives, our community, and the world. It could be done on a small or large scale. An outline for a candlelight vigil can be found here.
- Advocacy is Elementary- We would like to set up some type of event where we attend an elementary classroom and share with the students how they can help raise awareness on poverty issues. Advocacy happens when anyone speaks out for what they believe in. Children of all ages can become advocates for an end to substandard housing. Click here for more information.
- Constructing the Mind- This is a tutoring program our chapter initiated a couple of semesters ago. The idea is for members to mentor/tutor children of Habitat homeowners. More information can be found through our affiliate.
- Blueprints Newsletter- Our chapter will be producing a monthly newsletter to better educate our chapter and campus members about the ideals of Habitat.
- Public Affairs Week- Public Affairs Week is a week-long, university-wide program aimed at promoting our University's mission of Public Affairs. A part of this mission is community engagement, so our chapter typically strives to promote this program. For 2009, our chapter is actually partnering with PAW for our Bear Build. More information can be found under Build Projects or on PAW's web site.
- Collegiate Challenge- Collegiate Challenge is Habitat for Humanity's year-round alternative break program that provide opportunities for students to spend a week of their school break working in partnership with affiliates in the United States. A Collegiate Challenge trip may be the best school break trip you will ever have. Not only do you help people in need--it is also fun! You will have the chance to improve skills, connect with new people in new places, and put your faith into action by making a real difference in Habitat's work of eliminating substandard housing. For more information, click here. If you or your group is interested in taking part in this trip, please contact Rachel1027@missouristate.edu asap!
- Habitat Ambassadors- This is a new program our chapter is hoping to initiate. The Habitat Ambassadors Program is designed to establish better relations with other student organizations on MSU's campus. Organizations wanting to learn more about Habitat International, MSU Habitat, or how to get involved contact our chapter to schedule a short presentation given by one of our Ambassadors. This is a great opportunity for business, education, marketing, public relations, and many other majors to enhance their public speaking and organizational skills. This is also a great opportunity to gain some more valuable community service hours!
- Student Government Association Representation- Missouri State University student organizations are allowed two representatives from their group to serve as senators in the Student Government Association. As such, our representatives are to join the Public Affairs Committee, vote according to members' wishes, report SGA agenda and decisions to the chapter, and mouthpiece Habitat's ideals to the student body.