Freedom By Design- UMN

2013 AIAS FREEDOM BY DESIGN HONOR AWARD NOMINATION

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

CALENDAR OF EVENTS UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

BUILD DATES Project John Holmes Accessibility Retrofit

Julie Shelstad Remodel

Days

Date

Hours

4 5 6 7

7/29/12 9/29/12 10/20/12 11/11/12

Varies Varies 3 2

3 5 6 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

11/17/12 11/25/12 12/02/12 01/26/13 02/06/13 02/17/13

2 1 5 4 1 4

3 2 9 15 10 7

Attendants

EVENT DATES Spring 2012

Fall 2012

101 Total IDP Hours in Fall Semester

108 Total IDP Hours in Spring Semester

Board Meeting Board Meeting General Meeting Board Meeting General Meeting Board Meeting General Meeting Board Meeting Pumpkin Carving Fundraiser General Meeting Board Meeting Client Site Visit General Meeting Board Meeting General Meeting

09/08/12 09/18/12 09/25/12 10/02/12 10/10/12 10/17/12 10/24/12 10/30/12 10/31/12 11/07/12 11/13/12 11/17/12 11/21/12 11/27/12 12/05/12

Construction Tour Board Meeting General Meeting General Meeting Board Meeting Client Site Visit Board Meeting Guest Speaker Board Meeting General Meeting Silent Art Auction General Meeting Board Meeting General Meeting

01/16/13 01/29/13 02/06/13 02/20/13 02/26/13 03/09/13 03/16/13 03/27/13 04/02/13 04/10/13 04/16/13 04/24/13 04/30/13 05/08/13

Italics indicates scheduled event

BUDGET UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

ITEMIZED BUDGET Balance

09/30/12

$7,303.24

Posters Printing/Plotting Posters Printing/Plotting Build Transport Car John Carter Holmes Proj - Primary Supplies Pumkin Carving Fundraiser Expenses John Carter Holmes Proj - Window Pumkin Carving Fundraiser Revenue John Carter Holmes Proj - Additional Grab bar Tape for Posters Build Transport Car Julie Shelstad Proj - Toilet hardware Posters Printing/Plotting Build Transport Car Posters Printing/Plotting Tom Fisher Donation

10/01/12 10/28/12 10/19/12 10/20/12 10/27/12 10/28/12 10/31/12 11/10/12 01/22/13 01/25/13 01/26/13 02/04/13 02/16/13 02/20/13 03/28/13

-$2.27 -$5.50 -$43.32 -$700.00 -$70.00 -$116.95 $39.65 -$36.89 -$4.49 -$64.97 -$1.08 -$3.60 -$54.15 -$2.76 $100.00

Current Balance

03/28/13

$6,336.91

PROJECTED BUDGET Julie Shelstad Proj - Primary Supplies Posters Printing/Plotting Posters Printing/Plotting Silent Art Auction Expenses Silent Art Auction Revenue Posters Printing/Plotting Posters Printing/Plotting

04/06/13 04/10/13 04/16/13 04/16/13 04/16/13 04/24/13 05/08/13

-$600.00 -$3.00 -$3.00 -$100.00 $1,000.00 -$3.00 -$3.00

Projected Balance

04/16/13

$6,648.91

JOHN CARTER HOLMES PROJECT

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

In 2008, John Carter Holmes suffered a heart attack that left him unable to walk on his own. After spending three months recovering in the hospital, Holmes was left to live alone in his inaccessible childhood home.

John Carter Holmes using his new phantom sliding screen door

We installed door modifications, and grab bars throughout his home, in order to assist with his limited mobility. Throughout the project we noticed a visible change in the happiness of John due to the modifications we made to his home.

John Carter Holmes pictured in red with FBD volunteers

Student architects help U alum A student group is working to make a U alum’s home accessible.

By Cody Nelson, Minnesota Daily Newspaper October 16, 2012 www.mndaily.com/2012/10/16/student-architects-help-u-alum

For University of Minnesota alumnus John Carter Holmes, everything in his home is “an obstacle course.”

In 2008, the 63-year-old Minneapolis native suffered a heart attack that left him unable to walk on his own. After spending three months recovering in the hospital, Holmes was left to live alone in his inaccessible childhood home.

In 2011, a University student group, Freedom by Design, heard about Holmes’ predicament and began making his home more accessible by installing door modifications and grab bars.

Group members said the modifications will be done soon.

Freedom by Design is a community service program within the University’s chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students. The group is made up mostly of architecture students that use their architecture and construction skills to help low-income people or people with disabilities in the community.

“There are so many community service organizations around that cannot handle the number of people that need help,” said Don Keshika De Saram, the group’s co-chair.

The group does all of its work for free and relies on grants and donations from the AIAS, architecture firms and supply stores.

“Our overall goal is to improve dignity, comfort and safety,” Saram said. Holmes needs to use a walker to move and said that the group’s work has been very helpful for his mobility.

‘All I can do is dream’ Before 2008, Holmes lived an active life. He said he ran track at Washburn High School in Minneapolis and continued his running career at the University.

In 1969, he was a part of the University’s Big Ten-champion cross country team. After graduating from the University with a psychology degree, Holmes spent time in California before moving back to Minneapolis, where he found work officiating high school and college athletics.

Holmes continued running competitively and was set to compete in a pentathlon at the World Masters track championship in Paris in March 2008, which he said he was expected to win.

Holmes said he had wanted to visit France since he was a student and returned to the University to take French lessons before the competition.

While training at the University Field House in February 2008, a buildup of cholesterol completely blocked blood flow to Holmes’ heart, causing a heart attack that landed him in the hospital for months.

With odds stacked against him, Holmes survived the attack after open heart surgery. But he still lives with complications like a loss of balance that forces him to use a walker.

Holmes said the worst part is that the heart attack left him without a sense of taste.

“I haven’t tasted anything for five years,” he said. His diet now consists mainly of small amounts of cereal, soup and canned chicken, he said, because it’s hard for him to swallow.

In addition to ending his running career, the heart attack rendered Holmes unable to pursue his other passion: woodworking. His home is filled with elaborate works of art, all cut, drawn and painted by Holmes before the heart attack.

“All I can do is dream,” he said.

Freedom by Design’s modifications to his home are helping though. The work they have done makes it “real easy” to get around, Holmes said.

Modifications to the home will be completed soon, according to Amanda Holst, an officer for the student group. She said they still plan to put in a screen door, another door modification and a handle to help Holmes get out of his back door.

John Carter Holmes uses the grab bar that was installed by Freedom by Design members to make his house more accessible. By Anthony Kwan

A collection of medals John Carter Holmes won throughout his running career lies on display in his home. By Anthony Kwan

JULIE SHELSTAD PROJECT

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Julie Shelstad was serving as a fire fighter for the Minneapolis Fire Department, but fell on duty and received a brain injury as a result of her accident. This causes her to have increased anxiety as a result of this head injury.

We made safety improvements to her home, by fixing windows, installing new toilets and removing cabinets that were falling above her kitchen island. We also removed the cabinets to improve sightlines through the home to decrease her anxiety.

Before and after image of kitchen island cabinets

FBD members listen to the needs and ideas of client Julie Shelstad

PARTNERSHIPS UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Within the past year, the University of Minnesota Freedom By Design program has begun new partnerships with other organizations in our community to help us expand our outreach efforts.

We are also collaborating with many different student groups here at the University of Minnesota to take part in a month long service initiative in April 2013 called Our U. We are looking to engage 11,000 students, staff, and faculty during the month of April to complete 40,000 hours of community service.

We’ve been working with the Golden Valley, MN Courage Center that helps empower people with disabilities to live better life’s through fitness and rehabilitation. We’ve been working with them to discover clients who can use our services in the community.

CHARRETTES UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

We held two charrettes for Julie Shelstad, to design a new solution to her kitchen cabinets. The first was held on-site, at her home. This allowed us to learn about the existing conditions of the cabinets and make sketches.

In the second charrette, held on-campus, we further developed the earlier ideas.

Using SketchUp as a design tool

Design charrette at Julie’s home

Using drawing as a design tool

Pinning up potential designs for Julie’s cabinets

UPCOMING PLANS UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Martha Paulson Project Although we are still completing a project, we already have our next project lined up with a client. Martha suffers from arthritis along with old age and now has limited mobility. This Spring, our FBD chapter will construct her a new ADA ramp so she can remain in her home.

Using SketchUp as a design tool

Silent Art Auction

Image from last year’s successful Silent Art Auction

Our FBD group has held a silent art auction on campus for the past 4 years and we are again continuing this tradition, calling it A Fine Collection. We are expanding the event to work with our AIAS chapter in order to attract both professionals and students.

We’ve already raised $500 from local firms which will be used to cover the costs of wine and appetizers, again as a way to increase success of the fundraiser, on April 16.

College of Design Dean Tom Fisher

FBD Client John Carter Holmes

2013 LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Jason Soderlund Midwest QUAD Director

Jim Lutz AIAS Faculty Advisor

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

30 March 2013 Brent Castro, Vice President, American Institute of Architecture Students 1735 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20006 Brent Castro and the Honor Awards Committee, It is our honor to serve as this year’s co-directors of the successful Freedom by Design program at the University of Minnesota’s AIAS chapter. We write in support of our Freedom by Design program for a 2013 AIAS Honor Award.

As the program’s co-directors, we have seen our campus community embrace and actively engage with the mission of Freedom by Design. The level of energy and support the program receives from its participants is outstanding. For every build day that we have held this year, we have had strong attendance. Every on-campus event we have held was met with enthusiasm by both students and the college. It has been exciting for us to see people help others in need and to gain new skills in the field, skills that they would not have if they did not join this program.

We began this academic year with an inexperienced executive board. The only person that was a returner from last year was the historian. Yet our young and diverse board took on the challenge of running a complex program. We faced the challenge of figuring out the dynamics and personality of the board. Each person is very different and has unique talents and strengths. As the year progressed, we all made the effort to understand the work ethics of each individual, an effort that helped us to assign duties based on what each person is strong at doing. By now, we know that for any challenging task we face, it will get done in an efficient manner and the result will exceed our expectations.

What is really impressive is the ability for the group to work together. There is a strong spirit of community in our program, a spirit that is visible in all levels of organisation. The group really connects. People who have never picked up power tools before are helped by their own peers. Board members that are facing a challenge will get help from the rest of the team. Our professional mentors and advisers have offered support in many ways.

Our chapter’s Freedom by Design program has come a long way since the beginning of the year. With our second build nearing completion, it is easy to say that each person who participates in this program wants to engage in the community, loves what they do, and wants to foster the spirit of Freedom by Design. It is for the depth of this spirit in our program, that we support this nomination.

Sincerely, Keshika De Saram and Shane Cory Co-Directors, AIAS UMN Freedom by Design

March 27, 2013 To: Brent Castro AIAS Vice President From: Amanda Krapf AIAS-MN Chapter President Re: University of Minnesota's AIAS Freedom By Design Organization I am delighted to support the nomination of the AIAS Freedom By Design Chapter from the University of Minnesota. This year the Freedom By Design team has made a great effort to achieve the mission of AIAS to reach out to the community and enrich people's lives.

Our Freedom By Design Directors, Keshika De Saram and Shane Cory, have shown exemplary leadership skills through their enthusiasm and passion for Freedom By Design. They have increased student engagement this year by creating an enjoyable atmosphere for meetings and build days. Keshika has done a tremendous job organizing events, communicating to members, and sharing his passion for helping others. Shane has been an asset as a leader through his fresh ideas and excitement for the work Freedom By Design offers its clients. The additional members of the board have been hardworking and instrumental in the success of the organization.

Freedom By Design has been busy each week of the year working with various clients in the community. With their first client, John Carter Holmes a University alumnus and former collegiate athlete, they were able to make his home more accessible with the installation of grab bars. John's main concern was his current front door which made daily entry into his home a draining task. The team replaced his door so he can enter his home with ease. The second client of the year, Julie Shelstad, is a former firefighter who needed improvements done on her home. Through a collaborative charrette, the team designed and installed new kitchen cabinets for Julie. They have also addressed several plumbing issues in her home. The team is already looking forward to their next project where they will design and implement an accessible ramp for a client in need.

Freedom By Design considers the positive impact on the lives of their clients the most important part of their work. The recognition of Freedom By Design at the University of Minnesota with an honor award would be well deserved.

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" - George Eliot

Sincerely, Amanda Krapf AIAS MN-President

University of Minnesota Freedom By Design Chapter Rapson Hall 89 Church St. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 Email: freedom@umn.edu Facebook: AIAS Freedom By Design - UMN

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA