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Affordable Housing Fund

As noted on the Welcome page, the Community Outreach Committee is focusing all efforts on its Affordable Housing Fund initiative. Below is Community Outreach Chair Adam Penna's October 2006 article introducing this year's event.

Affordable Housing Fund Surpasses Its Goal
by Adam Penna, Chair

I have to admit, as enthusiastic as I am usually, when we began this effort to raise enough money to sponsor a “Day of Building,” I was worried. I had never been involved in a fundraiser, but I thought I knew at least this much: once you began to ask for money for a cause, it is a good idea to meet your goal. The cash you raise is a promise, and I like to keep my promises. Over the course of the semester and the length of the summer, I would think about that boy in John Updike’s famous short story A&P, and how, if I failed, the world would be a difficult place thereafter for me, too.

You can imagine my relief, when, at our last EC meeting, Joyce Gabriele showed me the balance of our fundraising efforts. After several small events, and the great success of our Affordable Housing Fund Raffle, we had more than doubled our intended goal. We could, if we wanted, sponsor two days of building. It is funny, but this feels like the end of an ABC After School Special, an infinitely better circumstance than any of the stories I teach in my Introduction to Literature Class.

Our first Habitat for Humanity “Day of Building” has been scheduled for Saturday November 4th, 2006, from 9 AM to 3 PM. The site is in Bellport, and we have already secured several willing volunteers, but there is still a need for a few more with carpentry skills. So if you know your way around a circular saw, contact me soon. We really need your help. Goggles, gloves and lunch will be provided.

Before I go any further, I want to thank a few people, without whose help I would be writing here a lengthy apology. First, I want to thank all who supported our efforts by attending our events last semester and buying raffle tickets. It was to you that half our promise goes. We hope to be worthy of the trust. Second, I want to thank everyone who volunteered to help, whether by selling tickets or giving time at these events. It may seem like a little enough thing, to donate your time and energy to a worthy cause, but, if that were true, there would hardly be a need for fundraisers such as this one. Third, I want to offer a special thanks to Marya Shepherd and Louise Johnston, who planned, organized and executed the AHF Raffle. Theirs was a task I did not envy, and they accomplished it with grace and acumen. Fourth, I want to thank the FA Officers, especially Joyce Gabriele, who supported Marya and Louise throughout. I would like also to thank Anita Greifenstein, the FA’s secretary, who helped us in a thousand little, essential ways. Lastly, I want to thank the members of the Community Outreach Committee, who are too many to name individually, but especially the co-chair, Dan Linker. I am grateful to you for all you have done and all that still you promise to do.

Before I close, I want to invite interested faculty and staff to attend a Community Outreach Committee meeting, especially if you have an idea for a fundraising event. We would love to hear it. Failing that, we ask only that you continue to support our efforts and be on the lookout for upcoming events.