Giganet Lends a Hand to Habitat for Humanity; Giganet Employees Donate Volunteer Labor and $3,000 in Contributions to Building, Affordable Housing in North Central Massachusetts.

Business/Technology Editors

CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2000

Employees from Giganet, Inc., a private Concord-based company that produces high speed networking products, joined other volunteers this last weekend to work on the construction of the Habitat 2000 home in Littleton. Giganet(R) has been a long timer supporter of the Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts Affiliate, having contributed cash donations totaling over $3,000 to furthering Habitat's work in building decent, affordable housing with those in need.

"Habitat for Humanity provides tremendous opportunities for businesses like Giganet, who want to give something back to the local community," states Neil Ferris, CEO and President, Giganet, Inc. "We at Giganet are pleased to take part in Habitat's efforts to build affordable housing in Massachusetts."

Habitat 2000 is an ecumenical, community-wide effort, committed to building the Habitat home in Littleton. This Habitat project is unique in its strong local community, Church and business support. The land for the Littleton home is also unique in its prime location and size. Located on Harvard Road in Littleton, the Habitat home is being built on a one acre wooded lot that abuts conservation land. The land was donated by Sue Koerper, a nurse from Emerson Hospital in Concord, and a Littleton resident for the last 30 years. Sue and her husband Steve have supported Habitat for many years. In 1998, Steve died of cancer and in that same year, Sue learned from a presentation that she attended at her church, that the Habitat 2000 project was looking for land in Littleton.

"The decision to donate the land was instantaneous," says Sue Koerper, land donor for the Habitat 2000 project. "My husband would have wanted the land to be part of Habitat."

Giganet employees joined Wanda Belliveau, the Habitat 2000 Homeowner, as well as volunteers from Boston University and local construction firms, businesses, and churches in putting up the interior dry walling and finishing the exterior siding on the Littleton home.

"The outpouring of support from Churches, schools, construction companies and business such as Giganet has been phenomenal," states Megan Foley, President, Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts. "These homes would not be built without their unwavering support."

About Giganet, Inc.

Giganet is a leading provider of high-performance system and storage networks. Giganet networking products are based on the Virtual Interface (VI) standard. Internet applications and data running over Giganet VI-enabled networks experience greater performance and scalability, delivering more data to more users, faster. Giganet is a privately held corporation, headquartered in Concord, Mass. The company can be reached at [phone], or at www.giganet.com.

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