In addition to their roles at UVA, Facilities Management employees actively contribute to the greater community. Staff members use their skills and talents to help people across the Charlottesville area and even overseas.
Clean water
Building Automation System (BAS) Project Coordinator Peter Chege has been working closely with a local charity to bring drinking water to his hometown in Kenya.
Chege, who graduated from the UVA Apprenticeship Program in 2019 as an electrician, worked with G. Raye Jones, a local lawyer and a double-Hoo well-known for his charitable work, to establish a non-profit that purchased land in Chege’s home village for a well. The well was then fitted with a solar-powered pump, since the village has no electricity. It produces about 30 gallons a minute providing water for about 500 families.
Chege continues to raise money to support ongoing efforts in the village, including the construction of a school, church and community education center.
Tool library
Multiple volunteers from the UVA community – including Apprentice Ryan McCarthy – helped found the Charlottesville Tool Library, an organization that lends out hand and power tools that members can borrow for a week at a time.
“I want to do this so I can help people and make things more accessible,” McCarthy told UVA Today. “I love teaching and I look forward to doing that as well…I enjoy being a part of repair cafes, some of the events that have been held at IX Park – all of which are very cool and part of our mission to get more women and more diverse people in general interested in the trades.”
Tools are catalogued and carefully stored on wooden shelves at the Charlottesville Tool Library. Volunteer Bodhi Catlett checks out a tool with a library borrower. (Photos by Fang Yi / University Communications)
Elevator enthusiast
In March 2022, the Elevator team and contractor Priority Elevator hosted a behind-the-scenes tour at UVA for a 13-year-old elevator enthusiast.
UVA Elevator Program Manager Eddie Morris, Elevator Maintenance Supervisor Jamie Dowell and Elevator Programs Specialist Mike Richards joined Priority Elevator staff to provide a tour for Henry Boyer of Powhatan, who has extensive knowledge of elevators.
The visit included a few rides up and down the elevators, a look at the inner workings of the top of an elevator and inside the mechanical room. Plus, the team pulled together some fun swag, including a baseball signed by the UVA baseball team.
UVA Elevator and Priority Elevaor staff host 13-year-old elevator enthusiast Henry Boyer. Henry gets a look at the inner workings of the top of an elevator at the 11th Street Garage. (Photo by Jane Centofante / Facilities Management and contributed)
Rescue training
In the summer of 2022, Albemarle County Fire Rescue conducted a training exercise for their Technical Rescue Team within a utility tunnel on Grounds. The department worked closely with Associate Director of Utilities Cameron Ratliff to arrange for the training opportunity.
The training helped the team prepare for how they would respond if they were called to rescue a person who was injured within the tunnel. Rescue personnel practiced using a dummy via a tunnel access point on Edgemont Road.
“This [was] a great opportunity for us as a lot of our training is often in staged environments,” said Wallace Robertson with Albemarle County Fire Rescue. “[The department’s] extensive efforts have forged a new opportunity between UVA and local responders.”
