With a $40,000 budget, one Penn State group will be spending their weekends 25 miles north of State College.

And they're not paying a bar tab.

Since Sept. 18, various members of Penn State's chapter of Habitat for Humanity have traveled to Philipsburg to work on the foundation of a house that they're funding and building.

This is the second house the group has raised money for and built since 2002. However, the first house was funded and built in conjunction with Tri-County Habitat for Humanity.

"This is our first entirely student-built house," volunteer coordinator Lauren Keating said.

Habitat for Humanity takes about 10 students out to the house every weekend with the executive board of the group.

Construction Coordinator Mike Hopple said the concrete slab for the floor was poured Sept. 18, and last Saturday, they framed the entire shell for the house, set out both story floors and framed the second-floor walls.

Keating said Saturdays are the big construction days for the group. "Saturdays are sometimes hard with football, but we're also trying to go on Thursdays and Fridays," she said.

In two years of fundraising, the group raised $40,000 to cover the cost of building the house.

"This is probably one of the most rewarding volunteer efforts you can find," Keating said.

Max Chien, public relations director, said the money for the house came through their fundraisers, such as Rent-A-Worker (RAW) and parent donations.

RAW is a program in which homeowners contact the group and ask for help around the house. Habitat for Humanity sends out three or four volunteers for the projects.

Though the group is currently working on the house, executive director Eric Fisher said the family that will receive the house has not yet been selected. The houses that Habitat for Humanity builds are not free, and the families need to be able to pay back the loan.

Treasurer Todd Povell said that after the family is selected, it will help with construction.

"It's great to work with the families who otherwise wouldn't be able to have a house," Povell said.

He said the money that the family pays goes to Habitat for Humanity so it can continue to fund future housing projects.

The deadline for the house to be built is April 8.

"It's rewarding to see how we work all the way through from fundraising until when the family moves in," Povell said.

In addition to the houses the group builds locally, many members also travel on spring break service trips to build homes in southern regions of the country. Last year, they built a house in Slydel, New Orleans. It is still standing after the hurricane but has some damage.

Povell said fundraising for a new house is currently underway, but the group is focused right now on meeting the April 8 deadline.