NCAA® 2007 Men's College World Series - Omaha, Nebraska

Student-athletes and other students from Omaha-area colleges and universities will join volunteers from the NCAA, Lowe’s and Habitat for Humanity of Omaha on Thursday, June 14, to frame a home inside Fan Fest, a free, fun-filled interactive fan experience. The home will be framed at the build site and will remain on display through the end of the championship. The home will then be relocated to a permanent location in Omaha.

Future homeowners Ursula, Jarrett, Robert and Alicia Amedee will be on site to help with the build. Ursula and her two younger children moved from New Orleans to Omaha after her sister called and said she needed help. Her oldest son, Jarrett, was a senior in high school, so she left him behind to live with his grandmother and finish high school. Hurricane Katrina would hit a short time later. “I was in communication with them the whole time,” Ursula says. “It was a relief knowing that Jarrett and my mother had evacuated and were doing fine.” “It was shocking,” Jarrett says referring to the first time he saw his school. “Everything was flooded. I was thinking, ‘I won’t be coming back here."

Following the hurricane, Jarrett moved to Omaha to join his mother and two siblings. He graduated from Northwest High School last year and recently completed his first year of college at Iowa State University.

Today the family is looking forward to moving in to their new Habitat for Humanity home thanks to the NCAA Home Team build at the Men’s College World Series.

This build is part of the NCAA Home Team, which is a partnership with Habitat for Humanity International and is sponsored by Lowe’s, one of the NCAA’s corporate partners and a corporate supporter of Habitat. Through the partnership, more than 1,000 student-athletes and other volunteers have built more than 20 homes for needy families, many in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"The NCAA is strongly committed to the Home Team Project and we are proud to again have this important project be a part of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha,” said Damani Leech, NCAA director of baseball and football. “Because Omaha has been such an integral part of this NCAA event, we are especially pleased to give back to the community in this way.”

This is second build to take place in Omaha during the Men’s College World Series. Last year’s build provided a “House in a Box” that was shipped to the Gulf Coast region to be reassembled for a family displaced by the hurricanes.

“This partnership is incredibly important to Habitat for Humanity because of the many resources the NCAA offers,” said Amanda Jedlicka, executive director of Habitat Humanity of Omaha. “The NCAA brings much needed funding and volunteers to aid families in need of housing. They also have a unique reach to America’s youth that encourages them to make a difference in their communities.”

The build in Omaha is also sponsored by Lowe’s, one of the NCAA’s corporate partners and a corporate supporter of Habitat.

“This build combines Lowe’s ongoing commitment to Habitat for Humanity International and the successful relationship we’ve forged with NCAA to help a deserving Omaha family,” said Larry D. Stone, chairman, Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. “We’re proud to work with baseball fans and local residents together to help a family in need realize its dream of home ownership.”