A new program aimed at placing air conditioning units in the homes of Fredericksburg area residents this summer has taken flight.

Dubbed “Eagle Air Support” by organizers, the joint effort of the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank and the University of Mary Washington will reuse surplus window air conditioners from UMW’s Fredericksburg campus.

The program will make use of air conditioning units that were once in student rooms in Russell and Marshall Halls. The two campus residence halls will be demolished this school year to make way for a new theatre as the academic home for Mary Washington’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

“As we take down two storied buildings on campus, we’ve looked for ways to salvage usable materials, including the air conditioning units, as well as items and bricks that preserve memories for alumni,” said UMW Assistant Vice President for Facilities and Capital Outlay Brian Gorham. “UMW Facilities Operations staff started with the process of removing and refurbishing these AC units to benefit the community.” Read more about the partnership.

The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of about 4,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Virginia, which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.