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Endowment Awards $100,000 HELP Grant to Maryland School
 The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, has awarded a $100,000 grant to the construction technology department of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) as part of the endowment’s HELP ― the Homebuilding Education Leadership Program.
The HELP initiative was begun earlier this year to bolster college and university residential construction management programs around the country. The HELP program’s goal is to triple the number of college graduates entering the home building industry over the next decade.
The grant to UMES will aid in expanding the residential construction program in the areas of student recruitment, program marketing, faculty development and NAHB Student Chapter support. The UMES construction technology department currently has 75 students, but has the ability and capacity to triple the number of students it admits. The grant is for a two-year period.
“We are truly honored to receive this funding from the National Housing Endowment,” said Leon Copeland, chair of the university’s construction technology department.
“I am excited by the support of NAHB and its members which will go a long way as we work to leverage this support to attract more students to the residential construction industry,” Copeland added
Students in the UMES program are heavily recruited by the residential and commercial building industries, with a significant number of students choosing residential.
“UMES presents a wonderful opportunity for the National Housing Endowment to ensure that HELP is a success as we work to monitor UMES’ growth and help steer them toward the valuable resources that we have at our disposal,” said Gary Garczynski, endowment chairman and 2002 NAHB president. “We are excited to find opportunities for them to work with our local HBAs, the Home Builders Institute and the NAHB Research Center to grow their program and take advantage of these ties.”
For more information on HELP, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org.
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