For Service September, DPR challenges each of its local business units to take on at least one construction volunteer project. This year, every office used its construction skills to help local organizations improve facilities, and in turn help them work toward achieving their missions each and every day. In September, DPR renovated and repaired 15 community centers, seven single family residences and shared building and construction knowledge with youth during four workshops.

A few examples of projects completed by DPR around the country include:

Boys & Girls Club Placer County (Sacramento)
In Sacramento, DPR teams “refreshed” the Boys & Girls Club of Placer County facility that serves over 300 local youth. The project involved sprucing up several bungalows the Club uses for its after-school programs at the Rock Creek Elementary School campus. DPR volunteers completed needed maintenance at the school, including prepping and painting exterior walls, doors and handrails.

The Club’s development director, Topher Matson, said the service project and DPR’s ongoing relationship with the Club make a significant impact.

“The Rock Creek School Site isn’t just a building; it’s the backdrop where youth development takes place,” he said. “With DPR’s help, club members see a partner in the community that places value on the club they love.”

Bay Area Tackles Four Projects in One Day
In the Bay Area, DPR impacted an estimated 3,400 children, families and seniors in local Bay Area communities through its Service September projects at The Boys & Girls Club (South San Francisco), East Oakland Boxing Association, Casa Maria Recovery Home (San Mateo), and Antioch Baptist Church Senior Apartments (San Jose).

DPR volunteers completed repair projects at these four different facilities in a single day. Work involved an array of services including demolition, painting, pouring concrete and footings; building decks and ADA ramps, installing T-Bar ceilings, fencing, landscaping, lighting and handrails; building benches, planter boxes and a shed.

Center for Children & Young Adults (Atlanta)
In Atlanta, DPR reached out to one of its key community partners, the Center for Children & Young Adults (CCYA), to perform a day of service at its Marietta, Georgia facility which houses up to 40 local youth ages 12 to 21. Volunteers from all peer groups in the region turned out for the service day. In the morning, they performed various needed improvement projects, including repainting three bathrooms in the main building, putting together five fire pit/planter beds for the outdoor space and constructing a storage shed.

“Places like the planter boxes and fire pit areas help us create home-like places for our kids to gather and create memories of their own to carry with them when they leave us. Thank you so much for having DPR help us,” said Maureen Lok, chair of CCYA’s board of directors.