First Andersen-Rice Habitat House To Be Dedicated

CONTACT: Lisa Nutting

PHONE: (713)
831-4796

E-MAIL: lisan@rice.edu

FIRST ANDERSEN-RICE HABITAT HOUSE TO BE DEDICATED

With about 2,400 hours under work belts of 225
volunteers, on Saturday, July 26, the Rice Habitat for Humanity Chapter will
celebrate the completion of the first home designed, funded and built by the
student group.

The Andersen-Rice House, located at 9839 Cabellero in northeast Houston, will
be dedicated during a July 26 ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. During the
event, new homeowner Shirley Simpson will be given a home repair book, a Bible,
and the keys to her front door.

Last year the Rice chapter came up with the idea to sponsor its own house
after a few years of volunteering at various Houston Habitat for Humanity job
sites. The student chapter not only raised funds but designed (with assistance
from the university’s School of Architecture students) and built the home
following basic Habitat guidelines.

“For a lot of us [students], it was a chance to go out and do something
concrete and tangible in the community–something we could see at the end,”
explained Kevin Murphy, chairman of the Rice chapter and a junior.

The slab for the Andersen-Rice House was poured in February and construction
began in early March. Andersen Consulting
contributed $20,000 of the $40,000 raised by the Rice student group. Volunteers
from Rice Habitat, Andersen Consulting, and Gensler Architecture contributed to
the home’s construction.

“Partnering with Rice University on the Habitat project is very important and
exciting for Andersen Consulting,” said company representative Randell C.
Thomas. “This project is a first–we hope it becomes the model partnership for
colleges or universities and corporations across the U.S.”

Anderson Consulting is a $5.3 billion global management and technology
consulting company.

As part of the Habitat for Humanity agreement, future homeowners must
contribute 300 volunteer hours to be eligible for a home. They also must have
steady jobs with a salary range of $11,000-$23,000. As the homes are completely
financed through fund raising, homeowners are responsible only for 20-year,
interest-free mortgage loans of $40,000.

To get to the Andersen-Rice House, take 59 North to 610 East. Take 610 to
McCarty Road. Exit and go left under the freeway. The second light is Mesa,
about one mile down McCarty. Turn left onto Mesa, and go through four
stoplights. The fifth stoplight will be Sterlingshire, about seven or eight
minutes down Mesa (Kirby Middle School is on the left as you approach the
light). Turn right on Sterlingshire and proceed to the end of the street (about
two minutes). Parking is available on Sterlingshire. The Andersen-Rice House is
located at the end of Cabellero, the last street to the left before
Sterlingshire dead-ends.

For more details about the Rice Habitat project call Kevin Murphy at (713)
942-0745 or visit: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~habitat/.
For further information about Houston Habitat for Humanity please contact Dick
Taylor at (713) 521-2816. To learn about Andersen Consulting’s role in the
Habitat house call Charlotte Scroggins at (713) 237-2696.

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