Birdhouse Sales at Woodbridge Center Help Build a Family's Home

Some Rutgers University students are selling birdhouses so they can eventually help build a real house for a needy family.

Rutgers University chapter of Habitat for Humanity is at Woodbridge Center this week, offering birdhouse kits and premade roosts for feathered friends, all in an effort to hit their goal of $100,000 - the cost of a house sponsorship.

The smaller birdhouse kits are available for a $5 donation, while the larger ones are $8. They're for sale at Woodbridge Center all this week. The Rutgers group has set up a table in the lower level of the mall in the Sears wing.

But don't laugh at the paltry sums. The Rutgers group only officially started last fall, and through various events, they've already raised $25,000 toward their goal, said Rutgers student Melissa Wells.

"We have two years to raise $100,000, and we hope to be at $50,000 by the end of spring," said Wells, a senior majoring in sports management who is helping coordinate the fundraising effort.

Wells said that they're already had a ground breaking for the house, which will be built somewhere in the Plainfield area. 

Business is good, she said. They've already sold about 60 of the birdhouse kits, which, Wells added, were donated to the group by Woodbridge Center Mall.

"Melissa has been working very hard on this program and we are happy to support her and her teams efforts," said Dave Albertson, senior marketing manager for the mall.

The birdhouses and kits will be on sale Thursday and Friday from 4 pm to 9:30 pm, and during the weekend, the Rutgers group will manning their table during regular mall hours. 

"It's a solid feel good story for a few college kids trying to make a difference in today’s society," Albertson said.

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