The School of Architecture is proud to announce that Carnegie Mellon University selected Freedom by Design’s Weatherization Kits as one of 12 projects in the annual CMU Crowdfunding Campaign. Each year, CMU highlights student projects that will contribute to the University’s innovative and entrepreneurial climate. These projects enhance students’ professional development, create opportunities for hands-on learning, and impact our local and global community.
View the full list of this year’s CMU Crowdfunding projects on the CMU website. Donations are being accepted now through December 3, 2019 at 11:59pm EST.
About Freedom By Design
Freedom by Design (FBD), affiliated with the American Institute of Architecture Students, is a community service-based group of interdisciplinary students that focuses on giving back to the Pittsburgh community through design-build projects. We engage and collaborate with communities to understand the issues that the city faces, as well as work to design and bring about positive impact to the greater Pittsburgh community through built interventions.
About the Weatherization Kit Project
In Pittsburgh, 66% of working families have to decide between paying their rent or paying their heating bills during the winter season. In most cases, these families live in older homes that haven’t been well maintained and have very poor insulation and a lot of air leakage. To address this problem, our Freedom by Design Chapter has designed and assembled Weatherization Kits. These kits are small boxes that contain items such as door sweeps, socket insulators, and window plastic that can be easily installed to increase a home’s energy efficiency and reduce heating costs. They also come with a booklet written and designed by students that walks residents through the installation of each product in the box, as well as other products not included in the kit. These comprehensive winter weatherization kits offer both the knowledge and materials (including for installation) needed to help families save money, funds that can then be allocated to other necessities. The students hold a distribution event before the winter season to hand out kits, and host workshops to teach area residents how to install the products. The students get to meet the local residents and engage with the families that they are impacting directly. Visit the FBD website for more information about the kit and the design process.
Why Contribute
Even $5 can help someone save 5-10% on their energy bill, so every donation will make an impact! This can greatly improve the livelihood of people within the Pittsburgh community, and begin to address the larger concerns of inequity and sustainability. We as a collective want to take advantage of our education to make an impact, and any donation towards this cause is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your contribution to our project!
Learn more about the project on the CMU Crowdfunding website.