Salisbury likes to lend a hand

The Combined Fund Drive runs through Nov. 22. Throughout the drive, University Week will feature faculty and staff who give back to the community by volunteering their time.

Name: Jerry Salisbury

UW Job: Maintenance Supervisor I, supervising the fabrication shops in the Alterations Division

Jerry Salisbury

Years at UW: 17

Volunteer Activity : American Diabetes Association

Organization’s Mission: To prevent and cure diabetes, and to improve the lives of people affected by the illness.

How many years volunteering: I started volunteering in college. I have continued to work with volunteer groups on and off since then.

Why this particular activity: My late wife died of diabetic complications. My current wife works for the American Diabetes Association.

Other volunteer activities: Seattle Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society of Seattle/King County

Memorable experiences: In 1993 I was the project superintendent for a Seattle Habitat house. We were building the house for a wonderful woman, a single mother of three. She was working two jobs and she still got to the job site every week. I worked on that house nearly every Saturday for more than a year. I do not remember her missing a week. She didn’t pick the easy jobs: She was up on the roof, out in the rain “bending nails.” Who wouldn’t give a person like that a hand?

Last year, UW architect Tom Berg and I worked on a project for the Humane Society, the Tux and Tails auction. Tom designed, and I built, a Pacific Northwest style dog house. The house had a clerestory (an upper wall that contains windows) for light, metal sheeting on roofs and walls, was fully insulated and paneled - everything your doggy could desire. I got behind on the construction and finished it at the last minute, delivering the doghouse to a downtown hotel just in time to take it up to the auction stage. I thought to myself, “I’ll never do this again.” Then it went for $1,000 . . . Well, maybe I will.

For more information about the Combined Fund Drive, talk to your local CFD coordinator or visit the Web site: http://depts.washington.edu/uwcfd/.

For more information about volunteering, visit the United Way of King County Web site, http://www.unitedwayofkingcounty.org/volunteer/. This is a community clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities.