News & Events-Alumni-The Fuqua School of Business-Duke University

Fuqua and Habitat for Humanity of Durham have formed a partnership to build a home in the West End of the city of Durham. The undertaking represents an effort by the students to give back to the Durham community and an opportunity to apply the teamwork skills developed at Fuqua. Student organizers, James Hadden '07 and Stephanie Nelson '07, plan to use the project to develop a curriculum to enhance student learning about leadership in subsequent builds. As part of the project, Hadden and Nelson have committed to raising the funds necessary to build the home. To date, fundraising efforts have focused on corporate sponsors, private donations, and activities within the Durham community. Current sponsors include: the Durham Bulls, COLE, The Durham Regional Association of Realtors, Primus Realty, Thrivent Lutheran Financial, and the Curves Fitness franchise.

A key component of the fundraising campaign was the recent event, “At Bat for Habitat,” held at the Durham Bulls Stadium. The Durham Bulls partnered with the students to dedicate one of their regular season ballgames to help raise the much needed funds for this worthy project. The event was used not only as a way to recognize existing sponsors for their generous donations, but also as an opportunity to raise additional funds through ticket sales and supplemental marketing activities. In honor of the event, the Durham Bulls players wore custom jerseys, which were autographed and auctioned at the completion of the game, with all proceeds going to the home construction fund. Fuqua students did their part as well. The MBAA, Fuqua’s student government, purchased 500 tickets to the event which were given to the students for a $10 donation to Habitat, thereby raising over $5000 for the home. Not only was the event successful from a financial perspective, but also from a pure entertainment perspective; over 6,500 people attended the game and watched the Bulls complete a comeback with a walk-off home run in the 9th inning. The fans’ support was rewarded richly as they were treated to a performance of the national anthem by the Habitat Harmony with additional entertainment between innings that featured Habitat family members and Fuqua students.

With fundraising efforts well under way, Hadden and Nelson are turning some of their attention towards the leadership components of the construction project and how to best translate the lessons learned in the classroom regarding leadership and teamwork into concrete skills developed during the build project. Ultimately, the long-term plan is to provide leadership coaching to all first year students during construction.

“We believe that by taking everyone out of their comfort zone, we can make the lessons more immediate and relevant than a purely academic discussion,” says Hadden. “We would like to leverage the expertise of the Fuqua/Coach K Center of Leadership and Ethics (COLE) to distinguish Fuqua from all other business schools through this event.”

If you would like more information about the project or would like to get involved, please contact James Hadden or Stephanie Nelson at atbatforhabitat@yahoo.com. If you or your organization is interested in donating to the build fund, please visit www.atbatforhabitat.org. For more information about Habitat For Humanity of Durham visit www.durhamhabitat.org.

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