To mark its 25th anniversary of work in Richmond, VA, DPR Construction wanted to do more than simply celebrate the milestone. As an established builder in the region, DPR prides itself on the communities it supports just as much as the projects it builds.

Since 1996, DPR has left its mark in Richmond and the region building more than $3.5 billion in projects including the White Oak Semiconductor campus, the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, expansion projects at UVA, renovations at Capital One, and an adaptive reuse project for a top ad agency, and many more.

While building construction is DPR’s core business, so is being integral and indispensable to the communities where it operates. DPR’s Global Social Responsibility efforts are defined by four Pillars: People, Partners, Planet and Philanthropy. In honor of its anniversary milestone, DPR completed 25 acts of service in 2021 in support of the People and Philanthropy goals.

Philanthropy Pillar Highlights

DPR’s strategic philanthropic vision of “Building Possibilities for the Under-Resourced" is driven by three areas of skills-based volunteering:

Facility Construction and Renovation: Through work with partners at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together Richmond, Venture Richmond and Celebrate RVA, DPR volunteers provided critical construction resources to increase capacity and flexibility of facilities. The community space at Celebrate RVA was renovated during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow youth to return to the center quickly and safely.

"One of the most impactful things about working with DPR is that it was never about corporate giving—it was individuals, teams, and leadership being motivated to give because of the incredible company culture that made serving the community a priority,” said Julia Warren Mattingly, founder & executive director of Celebrate RVA. “DPR's exquisite attention to detail, dedication to doing the job right, and going above and beyond translated to a magical space that carried us through the pandemic, shifting programs to meet the needs of our clients, and reimagining joy. Our community is a brighter place because of DPR."

Career and Educational Guidance for Youth: DPR’s educational and career outreach extended to Mission Tomorrow, Circles RVA, Henrico Education Foundation, and the UVA Construction Consortium. DPR’s teams provided day-in-the-life experiences, taught seminars, and served as mentors sharing their insight with students, aged 5-25. Within the construction industry, DPR provided training and apprenticeship opportunities to grow the knowledge and skills of our trade partners.

Operational Support for Nonprofit Partners: Service on local boards and other operational support helps DPR build great relationships with community organizations and helps strengthen their operational capacity. Members of our team served on the boards of Rebuilding Together, the American Heart Association, and Ronald McDonald House Charities. Leaders across a broad spectrum of expertise guided decisions raised funds and brought resources to each organization.

People Pillar Highlights

DPR’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts are met under the People Pillar, committed to creating a workforce that reflects the rich diversity in the communities in which we live, work, serve, and build.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: From bilingual meetings to involvement with the Metropolitan Business League and the creation of the Richmond Community Industry Partnership, which aims to bring civility back to public discourse, DPR’s team members illustrated their commitments to being socially accountable and building inclusion.

From small individual acts to large group events, the team also found ways to brighten the lives of those in crisis. DPR completed a donation drive for Safe Harbor, a local organization that supports victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking; created gift baskets for the nurses at our project sites for nurse’s week; and painted pumpkins for kids at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

“We were just blown away by the amount of time and attention that our builders spent to help make our first year a great success,” said Richmond CASA’s Executive Director Jeannine Panzera during the event.

Youth and adults around Richmond had the opportunity to interact with DPR’s Great Things playhouse at the Short Pump Town Center last spring. The playhouse was donated to Richmond CASA and auctioned within the community to raise money to support the needs of abused, neglected, and at-risk children in juvenile dependency proceedings.

“Richmond is a community that values continuity, and those of us representing DPR here today are building on the commitment of our predecessors,” said Jay Stoda, DPR’s local business unit leader.“This is more than the place where we work, we live here too, and it is rewarding to contribute our time and energy to a community where the difference we make is apparent and clearly valued. As we look to the next 25 years, we know that commitment will only grow.”