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Housing Endowment Wins Award for Service to Youth
 In recognition of its generous support for the NAHB Student Chapters and its sponsorship of a number of student scholarships, the National Housing Endowment (NHE) has been selected to receive the Distinguished Service Award.
The award is presented annually by the NAHB Student Chapters Advisory Board to recognize support of the association’s student members and educational programs promoting the home building industry.
A key mission of the endowment is promoting the success of young people who are embarking on careers in the industry and, as the philanthropic arm of NAHB, it has provided continued funding for several Student Chapters programs.
Hundreds of NAHB student members have received financial support for pursuing their home building-related studies through the endowment’s Lee S. Evans Scholarship, Herman J. Smith Scholarship, “Strategies for Success” (co-sponsored by the NAHB Women’s Council) and “Build Your Future” (co-sponsored by Centex Homes).
For the past two years, the National Housing Endowment has sponsored the Past President’s Matching Funds Program to support student attendance at the International Builder’s Show (IBS) by matching contributions from local and state home builders associations.
 In addition to student scholarships, the endowment has just begun an effort to support the growth of construction-related education at colleges and universities around the country. The Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP), the endowment’s new flagship grant-making effort, is working to establish closer relationships with institutions of higher education for the benefit of residential construction. Initial major contributions have helped establish new courses in residential construction management at East Carolina University's Department of Construction Management and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a master’s program in that field at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“The members of the NAHB Student Chapters are the future of this industry. The National Housing Endowment is proud to support the efforts of NAHB and HBI to reach these future leaders,” said Gary Garczynski, chairman of the endowment and 2002 NAHB president. “This award tells us we are moving in the right direction, and on behalf of my fellow trustees, I thank the Home Builders Institute (HBI).”
HBI, the workforce development arm of NAHB, administers the association’s Student Chapters program, and has also received significant financial support from the endowment that has helped launch several innovative programs including:
- Team Builders — an initiative aimed at attracting Hispanic college students to managerial positions in the home building industry.
- Make It Happen — HBI’s campaign to promote careers in residential construction. In conjunction with this effort, the endowment last month funded public service announcements that will be broadcasted in partnership with Scripps.
The Distinguished Service Award will be presented at the NAHB Student Chapters Awards Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 9 at the IBS in Orlando, Fla.
For more information, e-mail Page Browning at HBI, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8918.
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