The University of San Diego School of Business Administration, and Dr. Barbara Withers (one of my old college professors), have come up with a very powerful community service program they call SEED - Sustainable Environment Enterprise Development.
The goal of this program is to "teach business students how to use project management tools, inspire students through community service, and promote the use of sustainable building materials and design." Students are tasked with the job of managing a building project incorporating sustainable materials and design principles. The project can be either the remodel of a home for someone in need or the revitalization of a public space.
When I first heard of this project I thought of it as a smaller scale Extreme Makeover Home Edition. A disabled person or someone in great need is selected as the beneficiary of the project. Students, faculty, sponsors and volunteers then work over the course two "work-weekends" to get all of the work done. Because this is all part of a Project Management course in the School of Business Administration, the students must also plan, execute, promote and collect donations to successfully complete the project.
Last year, USD and the Thanksgiving House helped Rosalie Cardenas by making her house wheelchair accessible. This Fall, the team is remodeling the home of triathlete Skip Gleavey, who is paralyzed as a result of injuries sustained during a devastating bicycling accident. After reading his full story I could not think of anyone more worthy of being featured on LIVESTRONG.COM as an inspirational story.
Skip has been faced with multiple setbacks but he kept a great attitude throughout it all and not slowed down. Skip was has been battling a rare, stage four lymphoma, and trying to recover from heart surgery. After all of this Skip was injured during a Century bike ride on August 16, 2008 and is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Adjusting to life in a wheel chair is difficult enough but when the transition is further hindered by the physical and structural limitations of your house, that adjustment can become overwhelming. With the help of donors, sponsors and other partners, SEED’s goal is to modify Skip’s house to allow him safe and easy access to those amenities the rest of us take for granted.
If you are interested in learning more about the project you can go to the website here. If you are interested in participating you can get more information here. If you are interested in donating funds, building materials to the project click here.
History of SEED
The origins of SEED began in 1997. That year, Dr. Barbara Withers’ graduate and undergraduate Project Management students at the University of San Diego's School of Business Administration began an annual commitment to improve the living conditions of residents of San Diego's Linda Vista neighborhood through the Thanksgiving House project.
The cornerstone of SEED is to have students learn the tools and techniques for managing projects by applying these skills to a real-world project, the renovation of the house of a deserving person or revitalization of a public space. Students in the course are responsible for planning and implementing the work. Students must complete the construction-related work over the course of two consecutive weekends and must find all of the resources themselves. Besides learning valuable project management skills while helping someone in need, students also learn the value and role of social responsibility.
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