By Lyndsey Gilpin
On one Saturday morning every November for the past three years, Matthew VanDerMeer has woken up much earlier than usual to drive downtown and work for four hours in the homes of disabled and elderly people.
VanDerMeer, a graduate student, is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), an organization at the University of Louisville that does community service projects in the field of civil engineering. Their main service project, Project Warm, which has been in existence for 18 years, benefits the disabled and elderly who live in the metro area. Students volunteer to winterize homes to help others stay warmer for less money throughout the winter. The volunteers place plastic sheeting cover over the windows and caulk the open spaces in between windowsills and cracks in doors and walls.
Louisville Gas & Electric supports the project by providing the materials, tools and other equipment necessary for the repairs. They also provide breakfast for the volunteers on the morning of the project.
The members of ASCE do all of the work, splitting up into teams of four to five people. This year, more than 30 members participated. Each team is assigned two houses to repair, which usually consists of about ten windows each to work on.
The jobs seem minor, but once the windows are covered, residents can turn their thermostats down five degrees or so to keep the same temperature, with every degree lowered saving two percent on energy costs.
Each team has a leader who contacts the residents of the assigned homes a week in advance and plans out what needs to be done. VanDerMeer has been a team leader for all three years he has volunteered.
“It’s very rewarding. Last year, we went to the home of this 80-year-old woman who wouldn’t even sit down because she wanted to offer us food, drinks, and anything else she could think of. She was so sweet and appreciative of us. Everyone is so grateful,” VanDerMeer said.
Although what they do every year doesn’t seem like much, the volunteers understand how important the service that they provide truly is.
Erin Cummings, a senior civil and environmental engineering major, knows firsthand.
“My house was without heat for a week last winter, and I know how miserable it can be,” said Cummings. “That incident helped me understand the value of Project Warm for people who can’t afford heat. It all adds up.”
The project is not limited to civil engineers, although they make up the majority of the volunteers every year.
The first year ASCE participated, they held a friendly competition with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Other students are encouraged to sign up every year, and this year a Facebook event was dedicated to the cause.
ASCE participates in many other service projects throughout the year, including Repair-A-Fair during the summer, when they travel to houses all around Louisville to do general yard work. They have also taken Spring Break trips to Mississippi to help out with the Katrina effort.
Whether the organization is helping in the winter, summer, outside or inside, they know that every hour of work they put in, no matter how minor the job, is important and that the community appreciates and understands all that they do.
And for the volunteers like VanDerMeer, that is the most important part of any community service.
“We’re very active in the community,” said VanDerMeer. “But Project Warm is my favorite service effort because it’s obvious how much it helps these people.”
With university students like these doing their part to help out, it seems as though the small things really do add up.
