UMES And Chesapeake Housing Mission Build New Ramp

Originally Posted on Sep 13, 2014 5:28 PM EDT and Updated on Sep 13, 2014 6:36 PM EDT
By Jobina Fortson

CRISFIELD, Md.- 86- year- old Mary Walker experienced great difficulty getting around her home.

Joyce Fitchett, Mary’s cousin says, “She’s fallen a couple times but not hurt herself.”

That’s when the Chesapeake Housing Mission and students from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore decided to step in, building Ms. Walker a wheel chair ramp.

Dr. Derrek Dunn, the UMES Department Of Technology Chairman says, “In my department we have a construction management program so the university thought it would be a perfect fit.”

The students range from freshman to seniors, all studying construction management, engineering, and technology. The Chesapeake Housing Mission gave them blue prints for the ramp, they studied the design for two weeks and then got to work.

Jackson Ford, a UMES student says, “We haven’t had many hands on experiences so for us to have this hands on experience and do community service, it’s fabulous.”

Don Taylor, with the Chesapeake Housing Mission says, “This is a tremendous time for folks to take just one day out of their lives and give it back to someone in their community.”

The students got all the work done in one day, from digging the holes, hammering the nails, and laying the lumber. They think their hard work is going to hold up just fine.

Michael Tucker another UMES Student says, “I hope she gets a lot of use out of it, long life expectancy.”

Brandon Cartwright his classmate at UMES agrees, “We put in out best effort to make sure it’s safe.”

Safety, that Ms. Walker is looking forward to as she moves about her new ramp.