The University and one of its alumni will be honored by Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven, Inc. at a ceremony being held on Thursday, April 2, at 500 Blake St. in New Haven.
The nonprofit organization, which creates homeownership opportunities for low-income working families, will present Master Builder Awards to Yale and to the Reverend Richard Mathers Mapes '49 B.A., '52 B.D. in recognition of their "outstanding contributions to the City of New Haven and to Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven."
Yale is being honored for the efforts of both its individual members and for the work being done by the University's Office of New Haven Affairs and Dwight Hall.
Habitat notes that the contributions by individual members of the Yale community have been "particularly noteworthy." Students from the School of Architecture have designed and planned six Habitat homes with guidance from Yale faculty members Paul Brouard and Herbert Newman, and many students from Yale College and the graduate and professional schools have worked on Habitat Collegiate Build houses, along with students from other colleges and universities. The latter include Divinity School alumnus David Perry, who helped build Habitat's Covenant Build houses during his years at Yale and who is now supervisor for those projects. In addition, students from the School of Management worked out a business plan for the organization, and Vice President and Secretary Linda Koch Lorimer is serving as honorary chair for the 1997-98 Women's Build project.
Yale's Office of New Haven Affairs will be lauded for its "many partnerships promoting economic development, human development and neighborhood revitalization in collaboration with New Haven residents, city government, businesses and nonprofit organizations," according to Habitat. "These efforts include the Yale Homebuyer Program, which has helped more than 280 Yale employees purchase homes in New Haven since 1994, and focused partnerships with the New Haven Public Schools. Yale has also worked closely with the Greater Dwight Neighborhood Development Corporation to attract a new supermarket, expand the elementary school and restore area housing."
Habitat will also pay tribute to the longstanding support the organization has received from Dwight Hall, the student-run center for community service and social justice at Yale. Dwight Hall assists the Yale College Habitat Chapter, which builds and funds a Habitat home annually, and recruits and directs "hundreds of students each year to New Haven's nonprofit volunteer opportunities, including a week-long FOCUS group volunteering with Habitat," say officials of the New Haven organization.
Richard Mather Mapes will be honored the same evening as his alma mater for his work on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven. He served on the organization's board of directors for seven years and was the board's president for an equal number of years. "He has been particularly active in recruiting congregations to the work and support of Habitat," notes organization officials. Mapes, associate minister of parish life and missions for First Congregational Church in Branford, is also active in several other area volunteer organizations.
For more information about the April 2 awards ceremony, call 785-0794.
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