Habitat for Humanity held a fundraiser on the Green entitled "Bail Out" that required a homemade jail cell, during Act, Speak, Build week on Oct. 7.
Stella Raab, vice president of Seton Hall's chapter of Habitat for Humanity, decided to bring the "Bail Out" fundraiser to the table after going to an HFH Youth Leadership Conference in Chicago last year. While there, Raab learned about new activities and fundraisers to help certain causes.
"The ‘Bail Out' consisted of at least one member of Habitat for Humanity being in the jail at all times," Raab said. "Each ‘inmate' set their own goal of how much money they wished to raise in the cell and that goal became their ‘bail.'"
The inmates spent their time in jail trying to receive donations from those passing by in order to be bailed out.
The fundraiser ran from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and raised over $1,200 in 10 hours.
According to Raab, so many students and faculty members donated to the fundraiser that the Habitat for Humanity members could not even keep track of how many there were.
Sophomore Ricky Harzula, a member of Habitat for Humanity, raised the most money during the fundraiser.
"My tactics to raise the most money were texting my friends and asking everyone who walked by the cell for any amount that they were willing to give," Harzula said. "I also let them know about the t-shirts we were giving out for those who donated."
Those walking by the fundraiser showed a desire to help.
"Most people weren't very reluctant to help out, which was refreshing," Harzula said.
Three staff members, Brandon Larmore, a freshmen studies mentor, Jas Verem, associate director of Housing and Resident Life, and Karoline Stankiewicz, advisor to the club, helped significantly with the production of the fundraiser.
Stankiewicz helped in the planning of the event while Larmore and Verem helped with assembling the jail cell on campus.
Building the jail took many hours, supplies and a lot of creativity, according to Raab. She said her father greatly helped with the creation and building of the jail cell, which consisted of 2x3 planks of wood, PVC pipes, paint, screws and a drill.
According to Raab, the creation took a lot of assembly work because it had to be disassembled after being built in order to load it into her car. After arriving at the University, the jail cell had to be assembled again.
According to Habitat members, about 30 students helped out with the planning and preparation for the event. Students also volunteered on Thursday to help draw crowds and potential donators in.
"I wanted to join because I never got the chance to do anything like Habitat for Humanity in high school and it seemed like a great opportunity," Harzula said. "I thought this was one of the best ways I could get involved on campus and enjoy it at the same time."
Raab was glad the fundraiser had much support from the University community.
"Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better outcome with the "Bail Out" fundraiser, and I'm so thankful to those who helped support and donate," Raab said.
Those interested in joining Habitat for Humanity can send an e-mail to Habitat@shu.edu.
Kimberly Bolognini can be reached at kimberly.bolognini@student.shu.edu.
