08/24/2026
This week, Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley and Roanoke College are celebrating a partnership that has become a tradition for generations of students—and this year, that tradition is making history in Salem.
On Friday, we officially kicked off the 21st R House, joined by the future homeowner, Roanoke College President Frank Shushok, Habitat staff, volunteers, supporters, and members of the community. It was a meaningful beginning to a build that represents far more than lumber, nails, and walls. It represents what can happen when neighbors, students, institutions, and community partners come together around the belief that everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home.
The R House has become a signature partnership between Roanoke College and Habitat-Roanoke, introducing each incoming class to service from the very beginning of their college experience. For 21 years, freshmen have rolled up their sleeves and helped create something tangible for a local family while learning an important lesson: community service is part of being a good neighbor.
This year’s build is especially significant because it is the first RHouse to be built in Salem.
Nearly 400 Roanoke College freshmen will participate in the project as part of freshman orientation, working alongside Roanoke College staff, student leaders, Habitat staff, the Builders Club, and other volunteers. Salemci has also played an important role in making this build possible by providing the lot and preparing the site.
Today, part of the freshman orientation class arrived ready to work—and they accomplished an incredible amount. Tomorrow, the remaining freshmen will finish their time at the site, leaving the project well ahead of schedule and giving the volunteers who follow them a clear path toward completing the home in December.
For Habitat-Roanoke, this RHouse also arrives during a milestone year.
2026 marks 40 years of Habitat-Roanoke building homes, community, and hope across the Roanoke Valley. Since 1986, Habitat-Roanoke has completed 301 homes, and helped more than 1,200 people find the stability and opportunity that can begin with affordable homeownership. The R House partnership has become an important part of that history—connecting hundreds of students each year to Habitat’s mission while helping another local family take a step toward homeownership.
The pictures from Friday capture the beginning: a homeowner looking ahead to a new chapter, community partners gathering around her, and a 21-year tradition taking root in Salem for the first time.
The pictures from today capture the next part of the story: freshmen who arrived at Roanoke College only days ago working side by side, learning one another’s names, lifting walls, swinging hammers, and discovering that their new community extends far beyond the boundaries of campus.
And by December, those same walls will be part of a finished home.
For 40 years, Habitat-Roanoke has believed that building a home is also about building neighborhoods, building relationships, and building hope. The R House is one of the clearest examples of that belief in action.
To the Roanoke College freshmen who have already worked so hard, to the staff and student leaders guiding them, to President Shushok and the College community, to the City of Salem, the Builders Club, Habitat staff, and every volunteer who will carry this project forward in the months ahead: thank you.
And now, for the first time, an R House in City of Salem.
We can’t wait to watch this house—and this partnership—continue to take shape.
