Friday night rain made construction difficult for those building cardboard houses at Box City, held by the University chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

But Sayaka Sekiguchi and Erin Crouthamel, co-chairs for the event, said the rain epitomized what the fifth annual event is all about – raising awareness for the homeless.

“Homeless people have to live in the rain too,” Crouthamel said. Sekiguchi agreed, saying the rain might have taught participants a lesson about poverty: “I hope they understand remotely what it feels like to be homeless.”

Box City raises money as well as awareness.

Habitat for Humanity will put the $829 collected from participation fees toward the construction of a house for a needy family in the county.

Box construction started at 8 p.m. Friday and ended 12 hours later. On Saturday morning, over a dozen box homes stood in the grassy area next to the Saddlemire Student Services Building. Getting them to stand was the biggest challenge.

Kohl Hall residents planning to build a “tropi-Kohl” hut of cardboard had to re-attach their roof after the weather blew it off.

The rain might have convinced a few people to stay home, according to Jim Carr, a member of Habitat for Humanity. But not everybody was scared away, he said.

Carr, who helped organize the event in past years, said the rain this year was bearable. But a few years ago, things were different.

“We’ve had rain so bad that we had to cancel Box City before – it was raining hard all day,” he said.

Box builders could find shelter and donated food and drink under Saddlemire’s overhang. The two scheduled bands canceled their performances, but the chapter planned other entertainment.

“Right now everyone’s busying building houses,” Sekiguchi said. “But we’ve got water balloons, a hammering contest and a few other things planned for later.”