Date

Contact: Liz Harman

(619) 260-4682

Harman@sandiego.edu

Project Weekend contact: Irv Dingle or Jessica Krane

Cell phone: (619) 865-9921 or (203) 247-1460

Annual USD Thanksgiving Project to Renovate Home of Area Disabled Man

Project Follows USD’s Core Values of Giving Back to the Community

SAN DIEGO – University of San Diego business students will renovate the home of a disabled man in just two weekends (Nov. 3-4 and 10-11) as part of the ninth annual Thanksgiving House project that teaches students project management skills. The home is located at 5361 Via Aquario near USD.

This year’s client is 52-year-old Mark Manion, who sustained life-threatening injuries in 1974 when he was hit by a drunk driver as a teenager. Though doctors said he’d be paralyzed for life, he overcome the odds and was able to walk with a cane. He married and had two children. In 1991, he tripped at a restaurant and broke his neck again and is now confined to a wheel chair. Manion has been recognized for his advocacy efforts against drunk driving and is a frequent speaker on behalf of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

This year’s ambitious project includes completely remodeling the kitchen to make it more accessible to Mark. Disabled-friendly improvements will be made throughout the house including lowering light switches and making doors and entryways accessible. Landscaping and patio improvements will be made in the front and back yards so Manion can enjoy the outside.

The Thanksgiving House project provides students with an opportunity to learn project management skills while at the same time to make a contribution to the community by improving the quality of life of one of its citizens.

“We are very excited in undertaking a project of this type that will give back to our neighboring community while also following the core values of our school,” said Irv Dingle and Jessica Krane, the student project managers overseeing the renovation effort.

Donations (both monetary and in-kind) are actively being sought to help pay for some of the expenditures including supplies, tools and other items needed. Volunteers are also encouraged to attend on both weekends and assist with the renovation project.

“We begin each year with very limited resources to perform the work for this extensive and involved project, so we are always in need of a wide range of materials and volunteers,” said USD School of Business Administration Professor Barbara Withers who has overseen the project since its inception in 1998.

The Thanksgiving House and other similar projects contributed to USD’s graduate business program’s recent ranking in the top 100 of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey looking at how well social and environmental issues are incorporated into the training of future business leaders. USD was ranked 36^th.