Mount Saint Mary College faculty and staff donned hard hats, work gloves, and safety goggles last Friday to help the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh begin renovations of a City of Newburgh house. This was just one in a series of build days that staff and students are participating in.
The work was part of the renovation of a brick home on Overlook Place in the City of Newburgh. The Mount volunteers did demolition work that included pulling up floorboards, disassembling the deck, and clearing the overgrown backyard.
“There’s nothing like a mission in action,” said George Abaunza, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Mount Saint Mary College. “It was incredibly fulfilling to work on this Habitat Build alongside colleagues in service to our community, especially when you know that the impact of the work being done will directly benefit a family that will someday soon occupy that home and have a chance for a fresh start.”
In addition to Abaunza and his wife Christini, the Mount participants were Peter Witkowsky, associate professor of English and chair of the Division of Arts and Letters; Denise McCarroll, instructor of Information Technology; Sagar Raina, assistant professor of Information Technology; Chris Neyen, associate professor of Art and Graphic Design, CMA Gallery coordinator, and director of the Communication, Art, and Digital Media (CADM) program; Tiffany Gagliano, dean of the School of Business; Dean DiMarzo, assistant vice president of Marketing and Communications; and Thomas Garnett from the college’s Office of Security and Safety.
The group is already planning another faculty and staff Habitat Build Day for the fall. In addition, a pair of Mount student groups will be kicking off the Fall 2022 semester by assisting at two Habitat build sites on Saturday, August 20, through the college’s Summer Bridge Program.
