Facilities and Campus Services, UMACC Team Up with PV Habitat

Jess Flohr, Pioneer Valley Habitat intern
Jess Flohr, Pioneer Valley Habitat intern

Facilities and Campus Services (FCS), the UMass Amherst Community Campaign (UMACC) and the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity (PV Habitat) have teamed up to help families in need in the local community. UMass faculty and staff, as well as community members, are eligible to contribute to this PV Habitat campaign.

Shane Conklin, associate vice chancellor of Facilities and Campus Services, met PV Habitat Coordinator Lindsay Berry by chance at an event in the Fine Arts Center in February. The pair realized the FCS personnel would have the skills to help with an ongoing project to build three houses on Glendale Road in Northampton.

Within a few months Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity was approved by the State Employees Responding as Volunteers Program (SERV), which enabled workers to account for their volunteer time on their time sheets.

About 20 FCS employees attended the required PV Habitat orientation. It is anticipated that these UMass employees will participate in some PV Habitat builds this fall.

Conklin felt there was more that UMass could do and contacted Jen Gallant, UMACC manager, about fundraising to support the FCS workers and these PV Habitat projects. UMACC was looking for ways to increase donations to local nonprofits and to engage a wider variety of donors from all sectors of campus, so a partnership was formed. UMACC, PV Habitat and FCS are collaborating on a fundraising campaign, running from Friday, Aug. 16 through Saturday, Aug. 31.

Gallant says, “Our goal is to find out if a grass roots effort like this one that originates from a department, includes community service, and is paired with fundraising can be effective for nonprofits and result in more people from the UMass community feeling great about their involvement and giving back. This is a short pilot to help UMACC make decisions as we move forward and help PV Habitat. I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Donations to the campaign can be made by credit card or by check.

Less credit card charges, 100% of your donation will go to PV Habitat.

What your PV Habitat donation could buy:

  • $10 - 5 lbs. of nails or one 4'x8' piece of sheetrock
  • $25 - light fixture or 16 square feet of ceramic floor tile
  • $50 - 16 square feet of laminate flooring
  • $75 - bathroom vanity
  • $100 - kitchen cabinet or 25 2x6 studs
  • $250 - window or front door or 100 2x4 studs
  • $500 - hot water heater
  • $1000 - 1000 square feet of roofing shingles
  • $125,000 - a whole house

Contact Jen Gallant, UMACC manager, at  jengallant@umass.edu or (413) 545-8414 with questions.