By Marcela Berrios, Hannah Storm Journalism Intern 

The Hammerin’ Irish is a group of dedicated alumni who travel to different states to help build houses for families in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. This summer, they will head to Georgia to help make the dream of home ownership come true for families in need.

From June 8-13, the team will join forces with the Fuller Center for Housing in the Chattahoochee Valley area (on that state line of Alabama and Georgia) to complete the construction of three houses.

Started in 2005 by Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, the Fuller Center aims to provide housing for the underprivileged through collaborations with local individuals and organizations. The Hammerin’ Irish partnered with the Fuller Center in 2006 to build a house from scratch in less than a week in Katrina-torn Shreveport, La.

Around 60 Notre Dame alumni–ranging in age from early 20s to mid 80s–participate in a Hammerin’ Irish project every summer. About 80 percent of those volunteers return to do it again in subsequent years. The tradition began in 1995, when the NDAA teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build a home in the Watts area of Los Angeles. University administrators, alumni and students completed a three-bedroom house in four and a half days. The Alumni Association then created the Hammerin’ Irish program to repeat the feat in different cities.

Since 1998, a total of nine homes have been built through the Hammerin’ Irish. After the completion of each one, the volunteers–both local and from Notre Dame–gathered for a special blessing of the house.

Click here for more information and to register for this summer’s Hammerin’ Irish project.