Mini festive houses lined the main halls of the Student Center last week for the Habitat House Challenge, a contest designed to raise money for the Mansfield chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Sponsored by Community Care’s Habitat for Humanity team, the House Challenge let individuals and organizations from around AU decorate cardboard houses to be on display while seeking donations Oct. 25-29.

The fundraiser brought in approximately $190, according to sophomore Katie Davis, advocacy chair for AU’s Habitat team.

“We wanted to do something that was creative and fun, but at the same point, it would really… [help] people become more aware of Habitat and want to get involved,” said Davis, who created the contest.

With a $5 donation, anyone could enter the contest for the chance to win a pizza party. All of the money raised will buy supplies and tools needed for Habitat projects in Richland County.

The Habitat for Humanity team provided cardboard house kits for entrants to decorate as they wished.

“You use whatever craziness you can find and just go for it,” Davis said. “It’s like a white canvas and they could do anything they’d like with it.”

The contest included three categories: Most Creative House, Best School Spirit and Best Haunted House. Passersby could cast their votes with a paper ballot, or vote for the People’s Choice award by donating spare change to the coffee cup in front of their favorite house.

Green Team won Most Creative house with a bright green house featuring a windmill and recycling bins.

The Social Work Club won Best Haunted House for their spooky, black haunt.

Best School Spirit went to Residence Life for their cardboard version of Tuffy’s house.

The Office of Admissions won the People’s Choice award.

Davis said she thought the fundraiser went well. The team ordered 30 house kits and all of them were taken within the first few days of the contest, according to junior Carolyn Reville, social and training chair.

While the mini houses allow for fun and creativity, they also bring attention to the serious situation of homelessness and allow students to do something about it.

“Everybody wants a home and I know a lot of amazing people that aren’t able to have it,” Davis said.

Habitat for Humanity is a national body organized into a network of local affiliates to help people who can’t afford a house on their own. Volunteers work with residents to build new houses and renovate older homes.

The AU student group helps with local builds in Mansfield and participates in the Collegiate Challenge in Columbus, Ga. over spring break by building a house in one week.

Senior Karie Charlton, a co-leader for the Habitat team, has worked with the organization for the past four years. She likes working with Habitat because it allows people to help those in need, instead of just giving to them.

“[Habitat is] a hand-up, not a hand-out organization,” she said.

The AU Habitat for Humanity team has undergone much growth recently.

“When I first got here, [Habitat] wasn’t really well known on campus,” Charlton said. “We filled our spring break trip this year within 24 hours.”

Last year, the amount of students going on the spring break trip to Georgia doubled from 20 to 40. Because they had more people, they were able to build two houses during the challenge instead of one like the year before.

The increased involvement led to changes in leadership for the group. Formerly run by two co-leaders, the group now has an executive board of five people with the co-leaders serving as advisors.

“We’re able to do more because there are more hands on deck,” Davis said. “It’s growing constantly.”

The goal of advocacy events like the Habitat House Challenge is to increase awareness, according to Davis.

Davis said she got the idea from a fundraiser her hometown library hosted. Businesses and other organizations in the community decorated teddy bears to raise money and awareness for the library.

“So many people have been talking about [the contest] on campus,” she said. “They’re excited about it and now they have Habitat in their mind.”

Davis added that she hopes the contest will not only make people more aware of Habitat but more interested in getting involved with local builds in the future.