May 12, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Professor Roya Javadpour
(805) 756-7647
rjavadpo@calpoly.edu
Cal Poly Class Set to Do $20,000 Home Renovation for Disabled Cyclist, Musician
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The Cal Poly students in Professor Roya Javadpour's project management class have spent winter quarter fund raising and planning for a project they'll tackle this month: completely renovating the home of a Templeton man who was disabled in a serious auto accident two years ago.
In the second annual "Poly House" project, 29 students will work on the Templeton home on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 13, 14 and 15, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 20, 21 and 22. Javadpour and her students have raised $ 20,000 in donations of cash, building materials and other assistance to make this year's project happen.
The Poly House students will rip out drywall, rewire the entire house, rebuild the walls, add new flooring and carpet and landscaping, and a new roof -- all in two weekends. Renovations include making the home more accessible for disabled owner 'Doc' Stoltey.
Stoltey, a local musician and avid bicyclist who normally cycled 200 miles a week, was on a bicycle ride two years ago when he was struck by a car, Javadpour said. He suffered major injuries, including a crushed spine and a shattered hip. Stoltey has undergone several surgeries since at Stanford Medical Center and has spent much of his recovery in a wheelchair. Recently recovered enough to walk short distances, he still has trouble bending or kneeling or lifting items.
"Our goal is to improve the safety and comfort of his home, as well as to do household repair projects -- like the roof -- that he has been unable to get to," Javadpour said.
Javadpour and her students work with social service agencies to
find potential Poly House project clients. "There are a lot
of families who have a need for help, but we also have to find someone
with a home that offers a suitably complex set of issues for the
students to tackle in a renovation,"
she said.
The educational purpose of the class is to give students 'hands-on'
experience planning and managing a technical project involving fundraising,
scheduling, supply management, team recruitment, resource allocation,
time and cost budgeting, risk assessment, task coordination, project
monitoring, and post-project assessment, Javadpour explained.
Javadpour's project management class students come from a variety of backgrounds including business, engineering management, and industrial and manufacturing engineering.
Central Coast businesses and construction companies gave the "Poly
House"
project tremendous support this year, the professor said.
A complete list of supporters will be available on the class Web site at www.polyhouse.org.
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Editors Please Note: Professor Javadpour and her Poly House student team invite you to cover the construction work. For the address of the home and specific work times and work schedule, contact Javadpour at the above phone number, or contact Teresa Hendrix at 756-7266 or thendrix@calpoly.edu for Professor Javadpour's cell phone number.
The professor suggests that demolition work May 13 (ripping out interior walls and ripping off the roof), interior drywall installation and roofing (May 14) would make excellent photo opportunities. Professor Javadpour also suggests May 22 as a good day for photo and story opportunities: The homeowner has moved out of his Templeton home for the duration of repairs, but will return to the home May 22 to see the completed renovations for the first time and meet with students.