An innovative partnership between the University of Colorado at Boulder and Habitat for Humanity aims to give student leaders hands-on experience and teach them what it takes to run an effective nonprofit organization dedicated to creating stronger communities and helping people in need.
"This is not just getting students lined up to go hammer nails at a house site," said Barbara Volpe, executive director of CU-Boulder's Presidents Leadership Class, or PLC. "Our students will be working on committees and helping to organize in a much bigger way. They will really come away understanding how a nonprofit works."
Recently, CU-Boulder's PLC and Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, which covers Boulder and Broomfield counties, forged a partnership that will allow each of the 43 first-year PLC students to participate in one of seven committees this semester to learn the inner workings of a nonprofit group. At the end of the semester, students will share their insights in a formal presentation that will double as a marketing campaign for Habitat for Humanity.
Students will help build Habitat for Humanity homes, but Volpe said that would be just one part of their experience. PLC participants will hone real-world skills by working on grant proposals and marketing campaigns, Web site and newsletter development and locating properties and eligible families for future projects. Participants also will develop computer databases for Habitat for Humanity and revamp the organization's thrift store.
This semester, PLC is focusing on community service, and most of the program's curriculum reflects that theme, said Stephanie Protsman, a junior from Westminster, Colo., who is an Italian and communications major, chairs the project's steering committee and teaches and advises first-year students.
"We decided that Habitat is the perfect example of service in the community. It's an actual place for students to express all of the things they are learning in the course," she said.
Paul Casey, Flatirons Habitat for Humanity executive director, said the partnership with PLC fits in with the nonprofit's philosophy about nurturing greater community involvement. He said student leaders would have opportunities to connect with community members and make a difference in people's lives, including their own.
"They'll learn, get something done, connect with other people and have fun," Casey said. "That's not a bad recipe for satisfaction."
The Flatirons chapter of Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1993, has built about 44 homes in and around Boulder.
Since 1972, PLC has helped develop some of Colorado's most talented undergraduate students into civic, business and community leaders. The nationally recognized program is supported and directed by a partnership between the Presidents Leadership Class Inc. and CU-Boulder.
To learn more about the Presidents Leadership Class, visit or contact the PLC office at plc@colorado.edu. To read more about Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, go to