Build a House, Build a Dream | Habitat for Humanity

Build a House... Build a Dream!

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our 22nd

annual Build A House...Build A Dream contest!

The contest was held at Stetson Middle School in West Chester, PA, on Saturday, March 8th. This year, 134 kids registered, and 94 homes were built—an incredible display of creativity and dedication! A special shoutout to our presenting sponsors and incredible sponsors—we couldn't have done it without you!

A huge thank you to the judges who donated their time and talents to help us choose the winners—we appreciate your support in making this event a success!

Congratulations to our contest winners: 1st place—Agastya Mudigonda and Kevin Ma; 2nd place—Sanvi Patel; 3rd place—Jason Kreyling and Dhanvine Vijayabhaskaj. Jason and Dhanvine were also granted the Saint-Gobain Sustainability Award. The Fan Favorite Award went to Simon Simonsen and Avyan Pai.

See event photos & videos

This event was presented by:

Thank you to our sponsors!

Model Dream Home Competition for 5th Graders Across Delaware Valley

In this competition, students work individually or in teams to build their own three-dimensional, model dream home which they then bring on the day of the contest for judging by professional architects, engineers, and builders. Over the years, houses have been fashioned from recycled materials, tree trunks, pencils, and pasta. Students are only limited by their creativity! All participants receive recognition for their efforts and the top winners earn prizes. The goal of the event is to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing and funds for local Habitat homebuilding programs for low-income families in the Delaware Valley.

The goal of the Build a House Build a Dream contest is to introduce the students to what Habitat for Humanity does as an organization. Although they aren’t able to help at the construction site yet, they can learn about the importance of affordable housing at a young age and what they can do in the future to help their neighbors in need.

Sustainability award presented by Saint-Gobain.

This is an additional award opportunity for participants who choose to incorporate sustainability components into their project.

Event registration is now closed!

If you are interested in participating, sponsoring, being a vendor, or being a judge at the next Build A House...Build a Dream Contest, please contact Brooke@hfhcc.org

See 2024 event photos

Helpful Links

2025 BAH Event Description
- This one-page document lays out the details of the Build a House Build a Dream Event. Easy for printing out or forwarding to parents, teachers, or anyone else interested.
BAH Curriculum Guide
- There are many ways for teachers to incorporate Build a House into their curriculum. This helpful sheet offers some tips for integrating the contest into your lesson plans for a variety of different subjects.
Judging Rubric
- This helpful sheet gives participants an idea of what the judges will be looking for when grading their dream homes.
Saint-Gobain Sustainability Rubric
- This is an additional award opportunity for participants who choose to incorporate sustainability components into their project.
Day of Contestant Information
Video from the 2021 Virtual Event
- Check out the 2021 Build a House…Build a Dream presentation on YouTube for some inspiration from previous participants!
Habitat Videos
- Watch this heartwarming video with your family to learn more about what a Habitat home does for a child in his own words!
Importance of Affordable Housing
- Visit our website to learn more about how affordable housing impacts everyone in the community and how making in more available can strengthen our economy.
Can my business be part of the sponsorship for Build a House?
- Absolutely! Click here to view our 2025 sponsorship opportunities.

Contest Rules

There are a few rules to the contest in an effort to keep everyone in the same parameters for judging. Please be sure to keep the following in mind when building your model dream home:

Models must be three-dimensional and fit on a base no larger than 2ft x 3ft.
Students must prepare one written description of about 100 words or less explaining why this is their idea of a dream house and highlighting any interesting features. This paragraph must be included with their model home on the day of the contest.
Students must be prepared to discuss their entry with contest judges.
- Originality and creativity
- Use of materials
- Appearance and design
- Independent effort (This is a contest for kids, not their parents!) Model homes will be judged on the following criteria:
Click here for the full criteria judges will be using

This free contest is open to fifth-grade students in public, private, and parochial, charter, and home schools throughout the Delaware Valley area. Students may participate in this event individually or with a partner. If you are registering with a building partner, you only need to submit one form but must provide an email address and parent/guardian contact of the building partner.

FAQs

What exactly is this contest?
- It may be easiest to think of the contest as a science fair. Instead of making a science project, students build a model home. Our judging panel will assess each dream home based on originality and creativity, use of materials, appearance and design, and independent effort. Once all the submissions have been judged, we will announce the top three model homes during the online presentation.
Who can participate in this contest?
- Any fifth-grader in public, private, charter, parochial, or homeschool (or any other type of schooling we missed) can participate!
Can I work in a group of three or more?
- Sorry, but you may only work individually or with one partner. We want to ensure that each team member has contributed and been fully engaged in the project, which becomes difficult with a larger group. We can also only fit so many people behind a table the day of the contest!
Are there any restrictions or requirements on what I can use to build my house?
- Your house must be three-dimensional and fit on a base no larger than 2ft x 3ft in an effort to keep the contestants within similar constraints. Participants can use any medium they’d like including LEGOs, cardboard, and wood.
Can my business be part of the sponsorship for Build a House?
- Absolutely!

Sponsorship Opportunities

Title/Dream Home Sponsor $2,500+
▪ Full-page advertisement and listing in the program book
▪ Company name and logo prominently displayed on the day of the event
▪ Company name and logo in all pre-event advertisements
▪ A table within the contest area where you can distribute promotional materials
▪ Company sponsorship announced in Vista.Today press release article
▪ Listing on Habitat website event page
▪ Listing in post-event communication

Signature/Foundation Sponsor $2,000
▪ Half-page advertisement and listing in the program book
▪ Company name and logo prominently displayed on the day of the event
▪ Company name and logo in all pre-event advertisements
▪ Listing on Habitat website event page
▪ Listing in post-event communication

Event/Framing Sponsor $1000
▪ Quarter-page advertisement and listing in the program book
▪ Company name and logo prominently displayed on the day of the event
▪ Listing on event page of Habitat website
▪ Listing in post-event communication

Contest/Windows & Doors Sponsor $500
▪ Business card size advertisement in the program book
▪ Company name displayed on the day of the event
▪ Listing on Habitat website event page
▪ Listing in post-event communication

Fan Favorite/Nuts & Bolts Sponsor $100
▪ Listing in program book
▪ Listing on Habitat website event page

Friend of Habitat $50
▪ Listing in program book

2025 Sponsorship Packages Form