
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a year’s hiatus due to Covid-19, students, faculty and staff from Indiana University and the Kelley School of Business are building a new home with a Bloomington family through Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, with support from Whirlpool Corporation.
This year’s Habitat build is especially meaningful and distinctive in several ways. This will be the largest house built by IU and Kelley students since Whirlpool Corporation – a key corporate supporter and recruiter of students from the Kelley School – began a partnership with Habitat for Humanity International to construct homes in Monroe County in 2010.
The 11th Whirlpool-Kelley-Habitat Blitz Build also will kick off a world tour that will provide more than $6 million in funding and home appliances to Habitat organizations worldwide. This will be one of the first Whirlpool home builds since the start of the pandemic.
In the past, the Habitat blitz builds took place across 17th Street from the IU Athletics complex. Ten single-level homes were relocated to permanent locations across Bloomington weeks after being dedicated. This year, a two-story, five-bedroom house for a family of seven will be constructed on its foundation at Osage Place, Habitat’s third neighborhood in Monroe County, located on the city’s south side.

Home owners Veronica Marquez-Tecpanecatl and Javier Linares-Arizmendi and their five children
On Oct. 12 and 13, students, faculty and staff will build wall components for the house in Dunn Meadow on the IU Bloomington campus, before construction shifts to the build site on Oct. 14-16 and Oct. 26-30.
Many students participating in the build are involved with the Kelley Institute for Social Impact, which serves as a hub within the school for socially-conscious undergraduate students who want to make a difference in local and global communities through education, service, career development and leadership opportunities.
“This Blitz Build is one of my favorite events at Kelley, and I enjoy volunteering each year alongside Kelley students and staff, Whirlpool representatives, the wonderful people from Habitat for Humanity and the future homeowners,” said Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the IU Kelley School of Business and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management.
“Whirlpool is an excellent example of a company that strives to make a difference in communities around the world. We appreciate the opportunity for our students to see Whirlpool’s model up close, providing them with a real-world experience of seeing social and environmental responsibility in action, while helping a family attain their dream of home ownership,” Kesner added.
More than 2,300 IU students, staff, faculty and alumni have come together to build the previous 10 homes alongside Monroe County families.