FAIRBANKS, AK- The University of Alaska Fairbanks Men's Hockey Team came together Friday morning on the corner of 21st Street and Gillam Way, volunteering a day of labor with the Greater Fairbanks Area Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
The Nanooks worked from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., assisting in the construction of two homes on the land owned by the nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. It marked the first time that a Nanook team had worked with Habitat for Humanity; however, a second group of UAF student-athletes has already volunteered to help out on Saturday, September 10th.
Judy Dellinger and Maurice Lake, employees of the Fairbanks Chapter, were both on site providing materials and assigning jobs to the hockey team. Those jobs included landscaping, making a driveway out of gravel, putting up siding, building a deck, and cutting holes for heating system vents.
"We're working on completing the outside before the winter so we can work to finish up the inside when winter's here," said Lake.
"I told the guys to be safe, have fun and get some work done, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves," he added. "It's amazing how fulfilling spending one hour or two doing something like this can be. You get so much pleasure out of it."
The Nanooks won't step on the ice together until mid September when their pre-season practices begin, but their team building is already under way.
"This community is so good to our student-athletes," said UAF assistant coach Wade Klippenstein. "This is an excellent opportunity for them to give back and it's a great team building environment. We have ten freshmen on our roster this year so this gives the guys a chance to get to know one another and work together."
Junior defenseman Jordan Hendry (Nokomis, SK/Battlefords-SJHL), who will return to the ice for the Nanooks this fall after taking a medical redshirt last season, led a group of his teammates as they put up siding on one of the houses. That group included veteran forward
Kyle Greentree (Victoria, BC/Victoria-BCHL), Hendry's defensive partner
Nathan Fornataro (Calgary, AB/Calgary-AJHL) and rookie forward
Justin Binab (Victoria, BC/Langley-BCHL).
"I thought it was an amazing experience," Hendry remarked. "It was for a great cause and it gave our team a chance to get together and meet the new freshmen that are here already. All of them are great guys and should be a great asset to the success of our season."
Freshman defenseman Steven Vanoosten (Langley, BC/Williams Lake-BCHL) was a part of the crew that worked on building a driveway for one of the houses.
"It feels really good to help people who are less fortunate than us," Vanoosten said. "We are helping build them a warm place to live in the winter."
According to Dellinger, the houses built by Habitat for Humanity are not just "give-aways."
There is a process that begins with an orientation interview, followed by filling in extensive applications. The applications are reviewed to find families that meet the guidelines set by Habitat for Humanity.
Their income must be 30-60 percent of the national average, they have to be willing to partner with a sponsor, they have to put in 300-500 hours of "sweat equity" on their house, and they have to purchase the house when it's completed at cost and without interest.
The profiles for the families that qualify are submitted to the board of directors and then they select a family for each home.
For more information about Habitat for Humanity and how to become a volunteer, contact Judy Dellinger and the Greater Fairbanks Chapter at (907)452-1685.
-UAF HOCKEY-
