Wright State student-athletes help build Fairborn home for family seeking homeownership

Student-athletes and coaches from Wright State University volunteered to help build parts of a new Habitat for Humanity home during a special event organized by the Athletics Department on March 12 in Lot 4.

“This is saving us about eight weeks of volunteerism on our build site,” said David Mauch, a 1995 Wright State alumnus and development director at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton.

Over 160 student-athletes from every sport worked in dozens of teams to build all the panels for the future Fairborn home.

“It presents a good opportunity to show the community that we get excited when they show up for us. So anytime we can do something for the people that live here and people that rally around us, it’s a super exciting thing to do,” said Jahi McDonald, a junior on the track and field team.

The house, which Mauch dubbed the “Raider Nation Build,” is being built for Fairborn resident Andriana Guzman and her four children. Guzman and her family have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for over a year, and she and her children were at Lot 4 framing walls alongside the student-athletes.

“For them, it might be like I’m going to put a couple nails on the boards, but eventually the boards are going to come together and help me build my home,” said Guzman. “I’m really grateful and feel super blessed.”

This is the second consecutive year that Wright State University, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton and Wright-Patt Credit Union have collaborated on a building project.