Abbie Sanders has 100 Marching Virginians to thank for her new house.
In the midst of finals, graduation, and summer break, the Virginia Tech marching band teamed with Community Housing Partners to build a low-income house in Blacksburg in memory of Ryan Clark, a band member and victim of the April 16 shootings.
"It really was a labor of love for an awful lot of people," said Marching Virginians Director Dave McKee, of the Blacksburg house that stands at 615 Cedar Hill Dr.
From 7 a.m. to about 10 p.m every day, band members put up the first-floor walls, installed insulation, painted the house, and assisted with appliances.
Kevin Mizell, the project manager and a Tech alum, said that about 30 workers and subcontractors worked on the project, which began on Monday, May 11. The house was finished in two weeks.
Clark was a Tech senior when he was killed on April 16 in West Ambler Johnston. He was a baritone player with the MVs, and a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Because of this, junior Sydney Plackett developed the idea last October to build a house in honor of him.
"Sydney said 'let's build a Habitat house,'" McKee explained. "And I said, 'Fine, go find out how to do this.' I've been here; I've heard this before. Nobody's ever come back. Sydney came back."
The Marching Virginians began in November to eventually fundraise over $41,000. They wanted to build the house in May, to allow graduating seniors to participate, and to avoid months when the band would be in season.
The New River Valley Habitat for Humanity chapter was unable to fund the project during May, so the band turned to the town of Blacksburg, and ultimately, Community Housing Partners, a Christiansburg-based company that builds low-income housing in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida.
Because the help of the band members eliminated some labor costs, the project came in at about $130,000. Funding for all CHP projects is provided by local funding, state low-income housing credits, and federal funding and grants.
Kamilia Lawson, principal broker at CHP, said that part of the money raised by the Marching Virginians would also go toward Sanders' mortgage payment.
Sanders and her 14-year-old daughter will move into the house sometime after the dedication. A nail Technician in Blacksburg, Sanders applied for one of the ten houses being built in the neighborhood. CHP members nominated Sanders to receive the house that would be built for Clark.
"Of course I accepted," Sanders said of the offer. "I was very honored ... I am very thankful I got to work with the Marching Virginians. She hopes to create a stepping stone made out of Hokie Stone for her front yard in honor of Clark.
According to Mizell, CHP finishes about 100 units annually, but the time frame for each project is not the two-week span that this house required.
"It's been a really long week for the contractor guys because they definitely don't usually build a house in two weeks," said Alison Wood, a senior in the baritone section. "It's been really cool because they've worked really hard so we could get the house finished."
"We all enjoyed working alongside Kevin and the other guys," said Steve Rich, a junior and the executive director of the Marching Virginians.
Lawson, another Tech alum, visited the site with Sanders and was surprised at how quickly the house went up.
"I didn't expect it to go as smoothly," Lawson said. "I thought maybe we'd have too many people and not enough to do ... everyone was working and meshing well."
"Monday, May 11 there was nothing there," McKee said. "There's a house now."
The dedication for Ryan Clark will take place at the house on June 20.