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8 • GCU TODAY
Falk and Garcia aren’t unique when it comes to community
outreach at GCU. Thousands of students and employees volunteer
every year at more than 120 outreach projects in which GCU is
involved. But this year, those efforts have taken on even greater
meaning. The Habitat partnership is part of GCU’s broader five-
point plan to revitalize the surrounding community, make
neighborhoods safer, create jobs, develop a STEM workforce
and support K-12 education.
“When we think about what God has done in terms of
blessing us here at GCU, it’s not right if we just come here every day for
ourselves,” said Brian Mueller, president and CEO of the University. “We
need to make an impact in the community. We need to be the restorers of
the world we live in. There’s brokenness everywhere, but together — with
the right plan — we can transform this.”
1. Revitalizing the community
Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit
Christian housingministry, builds
and repairs houses all over the
world. The partnership with GCU,
however, is unique in its scope and is
one Habitat hopes to replicate with
partners in other areas.
In Phase I of the project,
the University plans to raise
$700,000 to repair homes in the
neighborhood just south of the
campus in west Phoenix. That is
expected to take one to two years
before the partnership expands to
three more phases in other areas
surrounding the University.
GCU employees will help finance
the project through contributions
to a state tax-credit program.
Employees and students also will
pair with Habitat leaders to supply
the manpower necessary to repair
the neighborhood homes.
Renovations can include
landscaping, roof replacement,
painting and structural repairs.
“It is extremely generous on
GCU’s behalf to provide significant
funding,” said Roger Schwierjohn,
president and CEO of Habitat for
Humanity Central Arizona. “It is
also one of
the
first of its kind, if
not the first, across the country in
which a university is partnering
with a Habitat for Humanity affiliate
to impact an entire community.”
Garcia said she was attracted
to becoming a Habitat volunteer
because it’s not a handout but
a hand up. Homeowners are
required to fund a portion of the
improvements and also be involved
in contributing sweat-equity hours
to the repairs.
“We’re not here just to put a
Band-Aid on a situation,” Garcia
said. “If the homeowners are
also involved, it changes their
world and makes their lives better
themselves. It changes the whole
mentality of the neighborhood.
“The whole emotion of knowing
you are in the right place at the
right time to help somebody, and
truly being the hands and feet
of Christ, that’s just
incredible. But
you walk away
feeling like you
have received
even more than
the family you’re
helping.”
