Students gathered at the Founders Hall lawn earlier this month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to support Francis Marion University’s Habitat for Humanity organization in their first Hearts for Humanity fundraiser.

The fundraiser aimed to help the organization raise money for their annual trip over Spring Break to the Collegiate Challenge. Nat

asha Copeland, a sophomore and Habitat for Humanity treasurer, was apart of the fundraiser.

“We have construction people come in and show us how to build, and we go out there with hammers and nails and make the houses,” Copeland said.

Habitat for Humanity organizations across the country attend the Collegiate Challenge, where they spend one week traveling to different places and building houses for low-income families.

The students at FMU make the trip at least once a year.

At the Hearts for Humanity fundraiser, the students set up a table to sell baked goods.  They also offered games for the student body to play like bean bag toss and magnetic darts.

They also had cut-out hearts available for students to donate money. Copeland said that they wanted to do something different with the fundraiser.

“Everybody’s got a bake sale, everybody’s got a carwash, or something to do,” Copeland said.

“It’s just something for the students to have fun,” Copeland said.  “It’s not about ‘Hey, buy this, because we need the money.’”

Habitat for Humanity is a nation-wide, non-profit organization focused on helping with poverty and housing.

FMU’s Habitat for Humanity organization consists of at least 30 students with four officers. They also volunteer at the local Habitat Restore, where they help to refurbish old furniture and sell them.

Copeland said that the organization has more fundraisers that they want to complete before they leave for the Collegiate Challenge in March, including selling green lemonade for St. Patrick’s Day and a Mardi Gras themed-event.

Copeland also said that the organization is consi-dering making the Hearts for Humanity fundraiser an annual project.