350 volunteers join Balfour Beatty Construction for Sharefest's 10th Annual Workday
$200,000 worth of improvements made at seven schools in California
Torrance, Calif., May 9, 2013 /3BL Media/ - More than 350 volunteers joined Balfour Beatty Construction on Saturday, May 4, to repair and spruce up seven schools in the Redondo, Torrance, Culver City and Wiseburn School Districts as part of Los Angeles County’s 10th Annual Sharefest Workday. An estimated $200,000 in school improvements were made – all at no cost to the schools – by Balfour Beatty Construction employees, contractors, vendors, school staff, students, and community members.
This is the fourth year the company has supported this highly regarded community activity, and the first year that additional financial support was provided through Balfour Beatty Construction/Sharefest’s 1st annual Golf Tournament which helped to raise $50,000 to support the improvement projects that were completed on Saturday.
Tom Schlegel, Balfour Beatty Construction’s Sharefest event coordinator, said the company’s participation in Sharefest Workday is a positive experience for the company’s employees, contractors, consultants and suppliers.
“The Sharefest organization understands the needs of local communities within the Los Angeles region and helped us find and organize projects that improve the physical and learning environments of students,” said Schlegel. “Everyone that participated truly felt a sense of community and was very enthusiastic about playing a role in an effort that has such an immediate impact on students and staff of the schools.”
Schools benefitting from Sharefest Workday included Jefferson Middle School and Arnold Elementary School in Torrance Unified School District; Parras Middle School, Tulita Elementary School and Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach Unified School District; Da Vinci Science Charter School in Wiseburn School District and Culver City High School in Culver City Unified School District. Examples of the type of projects completed on Saturday included: reviving gardens with installation of new plants and general weeding; creating outdoor learning environments; installing decomposed granite walkways; planting native California plants; extensive painting of exterior classroom doors and building facades; cleaning classrooms and multipurpose rooms; planting palm trees; hand crafting and installing garden benches and planter bench combinations; repairing and painting basketball hoops as well as painting site-specific murals.
“Sharefest Workday showcases the voluntary, heart-felt contributions of our employees and suppliers who are hoping to make a significant difference in the lives of the people in the communities where we do business,” said Brian Cahill, division president for Balfour Beatty Construction in the Southwest. “Our company has a long history of giving back to the communities where we work and live, and this event aligns perfectly with our firm’s commitment to our sustainability goal of creating healthier communities.”
For more information on Sharefest Workday, visit www.sharefestinc.org/workday or view a video recap of the 2013 Sharefest Workday.
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About Balfour Beatty ConstructionAn industry leader for more than 80 years, Balfour Beatty Construction provides general contracting, at-risk construction management, and design-build services for a wide variety of markets, serving clients in both the public and private sector. With more than 2,400 employees across the U.S., the company has been cited as a Top 10 Green Builder by Engineering News-Record, and as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For® by FORTUNE magazine, four years in a row. The company is part of London-based Balfour Beatty plc, a global infrastructure services business operating in more than 80 countries, with a worldwide commitment to providing assets that help societies function, develop, and thrive. To learn more about the company, visit www.balfourbeattyus.com or look for BalfourBeattyUS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About Sharefest Community Development’s 10th Annual Workday- Saturday May 4, 2013:
This event mobilizes thousands of volunteers to complete tangible work projects throughout the greater Los Angeles region. Since its inception the Sharefest Workday has mobilized over 40,000 volunteers to complete more than 1,680 projects totaling over $7.5 million. To learn more find us online at http://www.sharefestinc.org/workday or call 310.626.8106.
