Northwestern Habitat for Humanity leaders unveiled a new focus on Evanston rehabilitation projects Thursday night during their Spring Quarter organizational meeting.

Co-President Meaghen Foley explained Habitat for Humanity’s purpose, Spring Quarter projects and upcoming executive board elections to about 50 students who attended.

Foley, an Education senior, said the service organization will branch out from their weekly home construction trips in Lake County, and begin rehabilitating local Evanston homes and playgrounds in an effort to be more beneficial locally.

Foley encouraged students volunteer for the Evanston projects, which begin in May, because the NU Habitat for Humanity hasn’t worked in Evanston since 1999.

The organization also promoted another new addition, an Evanston bus tour on April 21.

NU students will have the opportunity on the two- or three-hour tour to see many of the different Evanston neighborhoods for no cost.

Foley also unveiled the Tri-Cycle-a-Thon, a new fund raiser still under development for spring. She said students will can for donations by riding a tricycle in Evanston.

The new focus on local projects and fund raisers is an effort to increase member participation – one of the group’s goals for Spring Quarter, Foley said.

She said more than a 1,000 students are on the group’s listserv, but that fewer than 500 students actually volunteer.

Some students said they appreciated the brevity of the 20-minute meeting, which they attributed to a well-prepared executive board.

“I think the idea of building houses is really cool because it’s something that lets me feel like I am making a concrete contribution,” said Roseanne Clark, a Speech freshman.