2021 HDR Foundation Grants

Building upon a 2019 HDR Foundation grant, this $100,000 grant will support Denver Urban Gardens’ initiative to add sustainability elements to 20 urban gardens and develop outdoor classrooms in four of its gardens in under-resourced communities. The grant will add a suite of STEM elements to innovative outdoor classrooms, providing 1,500 K-12 students hands-on learning about environmental stewardship using sustainable, cost-saving technology. These four gardens will create a new standard for school-based community gardens and serve as the foundational framework for all future school-based community gardens.

Employee Sponsor: Jason Longsdorf | Denver, CO

The Henniker Rescue Squad provides emergency services to more than 5,000 residents across 44 square miles of Henniker, New Hampshire. The Friends of Henniker Rescue Squad is a philanthropic group who supports additional training and equipment that cannot be covered by taxpayers. This $24,225 grant will fund two ventilators so that emergency medical technicians can provide an advanced medical treatment called rapid sequence intubation, a technique to administer medications to patients that temporarily paralyzes them so that a tube can be placed into their lungs and lifesaving oxygen can be administered.

Employee Sponsor:  Thomas French | Manchester, NH

This $38,000 grant to The Street Collective will fund the purchase of a pre-owned cargo van 14-foot box truck used for bike giveaway, public bike-share and community recycling programs. The Street Collective champions active transportation options that are accessible, safe and enjoyable for everyone. Over the last five years, the organization has given away 1,711 bicycles to low-income, homeless and otherwise marginalized individuals and families.

Employee Sponsor: Joe Spradling | Des Moines, IA

This $71,070 grant to Polk County Conservation Board will fund a 24-foot pontoon custom-built to provide lake access to people with disabilities. In partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Iowa, this project will allow veterans with disabilities the experience of boating and fishing on Easter Lake rather than being limited to the shore next to it. The pontoon will also be available to people with disabilities through other organizations such as ChildServe, Courage League and Eastersels.

The Midlands Fatherhood Collation offers education and services uniquely tailored for fathers trying to rebuild their lives and their families. This $40,000 grant will fund materials to transform the Sumter “Dad’s Den,” a space for meetings, educational training, and recreation for fathers and their children. The funds will cover HVAC, sheetrock, paint, insulation, subfloor, finished flooring and electrical.

Employee Sponsor: Kaela Bailey | Columbia, SC

One of the largest pediatric health systems in the U.S., Phoenix Children’s Hospital has provided world-class health care to children and families in Arizona for more than 35 years. This $30,000 grant will support the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation with the “Keep Your Baby Safe Program” in 2022. The program aims to reduce preventable injuries at home, and the funds will provide training as well as home safety kits with medicine cabinet locks, medication disposal bags, door alarms and furniture straps to 220 families.  

Employee Sponsor: Margaret Ittelson | Phoenix, AZ

Project Pink’d provides tools, resources and a strong network to strengthen and renew the mind, body and spirit of breast cancer survivors in Nebraska and Western Iowa. This $29,946 grant will provide Healing Heart Radiation Kits to 434 breast cancer survivors undergoing treatment. The kits include personal care products not covered by insurance, inspirational material and information on additional resources to support recovery.

The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics offers a two-year residential high school experience to push motivated young learners to raise the bar for STEM education. This $25,000 grant will fund the installation of a hydroponic lab with full-spectrum LED lighting that mimics the sun, vertical growing towers and a seedling table. The facility will be used by about 150 students in residential, virtual and outreach programs involving real-world research projects.

Employee Sponsor: Lee Tupper | Columbia, SC

USGBC-LA brings together passionate, practical, and informed professionals and advocates who work together to transform Southern California into a more sustainable region. This $20,000 grant will provide 750 hands-on project kits for Sustainability Fundamentals workshops designed to engage students with design-based thinking and active problem solving related to sustainability. The program targets students in disadvantaged communities and reached more than 800 students in the first half of 2021 alone.

Employee Sponsor: Kate Diamond | Los Angeles, CA

The Women’s Center for Tarrant County supports individuals and families in need of aid and support because of crisis, trauma, abuse or violence. This $32,850 grant will support an upgrade to the organization’s employment solutions computer lab, which will allow clients to build stronger computer skills and more effectively compete for jobs. More than 100 women use the computer lab each year.

Employee Sponsor: Clara Castaneda | Forth Worth, TX

This $65,000 grant to Young, Black & Lit will fund the purchase of the organization’s first bookmobile to serve low-income communities throughout Chicago, as well as books for 3,000 students. The grant helps to expand the reach of the organization, building upon a 2020 HDR Foundation grant to purchase 11,000 books that center, reflect and affirm the experiences of Black children in Evanston elementary schools. The bookmobile will increase the accessibility and availability of resources by putting books directly into the communities that need them the most.

Employee Sponsor: Andrea Roncek | Chicago, IL

Guided by residents of the community, this $2,000 grant to Alchemist Community Development Corporation will transform a vacant lot into a thriving neighbourhood park and demonstration garden. Sacramento employees will help plant trees, establish landscaping and install irrigation during a community event.

This $5,000 grant will cover the expense of food distribution to approximately 200 families in need through the Atlanta Community Food Bank Mobile Pantry Program. Atlanta employees will take part in a three-hour event in which they’ll unload, display and distribute more than 10,000 pounds of food.

Employee Sponsor: Diana Gu | Atlanta, GA

The Magnolia Community Gardens in the West Ashley neighbourhood provide nutritionally rich foods for people challenged by food insecurity. Through this $4,500 grant to Charleston Parks Conservancy, Charleston employees will renovate the gardens by assembling new metal, storm-resistant garden beds and preparing them for planting.

Employee Sponsor: Bekah Payne | Charleston, SC

This $5,000 grant to Friends of the Wissahickon will contribute to restoring trails, streambanks and waterway quality along the Wissahickon Creek in Wissahickon State Park to repair the effects of severe degradation and erosion caused by flooding. Philadelphia employees will reintroduce native vegetation along the creek by removing invasive plants, preparing soil, and planting trees and shrubbery.

Employee Sponsor: Spencer Nush | Philadelphia, PA

A low-income community will be the home to improvements to habitat, water quality and native plantings as a result of this $4,800 grant to Friends of Wolf Run. Lexington employees will team with community members to replace invasive plants with trees and native plants, conduct an educational stream walk and conduct regular water quality testing.

Employee Sponsor: Macy Purcell | Lexington, KY

With the help of a $5,000 grant, Haven will realize the vision of creating a new outdoor space for survivors of domestic violence to spend time in a tranquil environment and bring their pets. Montana employees will lead the effort to gather volunteers to construct the space.

Employee Sponsor: Heather Nold | Bozeman, MT

HOPE Helps, Inc. will be able to deliver holiday meal bags to 142 families through a $4,970 grant. Orlando employees will sort and package the donations, then distribute the meals as part of the annual HOPE Helps holiday event.

Employee Sponsor: Courtney Humphreys | Orlando, FL

This $5,000 grant to Hope Supply Co. will fund diapers and supplies for new mothers in the refugee community. Dallas employees will volunteer at a community “baby shower” to distribute the necessities to families in the Vickery Meadow neighbourhood.

Employees across Washington and Montana will host an employment workshop for driven, well-qualified refugees on their journey to find meaningful work in their new home. The $5,000 grant to International Rescue Committee will fund the purchase of laptops for specific IRC clients to prepare resumes, access email and participating in virtual interviews.

The U.S. Marine Corps will deliver 245 toys to children at Omaha’s Children’s Hospital and Medical Center during the holiday season through this $4,400 grant to the Toys for Tots Foundation. Omaha employees will procure, wrap and deliver the toys to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Employee Sponsor: Angel Stoner | Omaha, NE

This $5,000 grant to Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary will fund physical education equipment and sports infrastructure for approximately 400 students ranging from kindergarten through 5^th grade. Employees from our Walnut Creek office will help assemble and install P.E. equipment carts, soccer goals and other equipment and paint new lines on the school playground’s basketball courts.

Employee Sponsor: Natalie Bogan | Walnut Creek, CA  

The miSci museum will receive a $5,000 grant for a new exhibit as part of its Clean Energy School Program. Albany employees will volunteer to remove an old exhibit, then assemble and install a new interactive exhibit in the museum.

This $4,800 grant to Nashville Diaper Connection will provide 1,200 diapers to Middle Tennessee’s only diaper bank to ensure babies in greater Nashville remain clean, dry and healthy. Brentwood employees will host an event to wrap diapers for distribution to families in need across the community.

Employee Sponsor: Ryan Gadsey | Brentwood, TN   

Students at Harrison Elementary School will receive supplemental meals thanks to this $4,998 grant to Omaha Public Schools Foundation. Omaha employees will pack and deliver food bags weekly to be distributed to elementary students by a counsellor at the school.

The Relatives will receive both GED preparation materials and infant supplies for young mothers and homeless youth through this $5,000 grant. Charlotte employees will host a virtual presentation on the impact of The Relatives in the community, then assemble GED preparation backpacks and write personal notes to individual recipients sharing their own education journey.

A $4,940 grant to Together We Rise will supply materials for engaging STEM education boxes for kids in foster care. Dallas employees will curate and distribute 76 STEM boxes, which will each contain four activities in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

Employee Sponsor: Antara Naik | Dallas, TX

The Trees Atlanta NeighborWoods tree planting program will be able to increase the tree canopy coverage and greenspace in the Vine City neighbourhood through this $5,000 grant. Atlanta employees will partner with the organization to plant 20 15-gallon trees near Rodney Cook, Sr. Park.

Employee Sponsor: Brigitte von Oppenfeld | Atlanta, GA

This $4,977 grant to Way to Grow will go toward the purchase of 180 STEM activity kits for the “Great by Eight” program. Minneapolis employees will partner with educators to create educational take-home activities, kind-friendly, engineering-related tools and an inspiring storybook that can be packaged and distributed to families.

Employee Sponsor: Brian Miller | Minneapolis, MN 

Almost Home provides housing and comfort for families whose children are receiving medical treatment in Kingston-area hospitals. This CA$10,000 grant will fund new windows to reduce energy costs and improve climate control in the converted Victorian home where families stay during a vulnerable time in their lives. The home has nearly 500 check-ins per year and has served more than 7,000 families with sick or injured children.

Employee Sponsor: Sara Ross | Kingston, ON

Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes provides door-to-door transportation for seniors and adults with physical or cognitive challenges to medical appointments, community program, shopping or social/family events within and outside of the City of Kawartha Lakes. The area consists of rural/remote towns with no connected public transit, and this lack of transportation is often a major barrier to accessing health, wellness and community support services. This CA$10,000 grant will help retrofit a newly purchased van to be fully accessible for people using wheelchairs or stretchers.

Employee Sponsor: Kerry Clifford | Ottawa, ON

The Partnership for Hope is a community-based initiative designed to address the unique challenges faced by young adults exiting the foster care system. This US$7,500 grant will provide a full kit of household cleaning supplies and basic home tools for young adults living independently for the first time. The program also provides training on independent household care and maintenance to help with this significant life transition.

Employee Sponsor: Lori Calub | Omaha, NE

During the pandemic, Eddy House converted its operation to offer many of its daily drop-in services for homeless youth outdoors. Building on the impact of a 2020 grant for a 4-wheel-drive outreach vehicle, this US$11,800 grant will fund the installation of security fencing and power so that the shelter can offer outdoor services safely after dark. Eddy House helps homeless and at-risk youth develop life and job skills necessary for sustainable independence.

Employee Sponsor: Mark P. Smith | Reno, NV

Tragically, children often arrive in foster care with a black garbage bag filled with dirty and poorly fitting clothing. Foster Love offers a boutique-like atmosphere for kids in foster care to pick out clothes, shoes and accessories so they feel empowered to represent themselves just like their fellow classmates. This US$10,000 grant will purchase 400 pairs of shoes, making kids feel confident and supported as they return to school this fall.

Employee Sponsor: Brian Green | Omaha, NE

The Reno Bike Project centers around the belief that the bicycle is the world’s greatest, most-utilized mode of transportation and that every individual, regardless of age, gender, race, or class, has the right to afford, maintain and enjoy one. This US$6,444 grant will overhaul 10 bicycles and purchase cycling equipment and repair supplies to provide transportation to previously homeless individuals who are transitioning to long-term housing at Northern Nevada HOPES Hope Springs residential facility. 

Employee Sponsor: Keith Weaver | Reno, NV

The Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio provides a safe place for more than 200 Cleveland-area kids to go after school and take part in activities that emphasize academic achievement, healthy lifestyles and character development. This US$20,000 grant will provide tile flooring as part of a kitchen renovation at the organization’s Broadway Club. The new kitchen will enable staff to serve healthy, hot meals for youth age 6–18, increasing their ability to focus, ensuring their nutritional needs are met, and instilling the value of healthy eating habits for a lifetime.

This US$10,000 grant will support the continued growth of the Latino Center of the Midlands’ Siembra Salud home-based gardening and nutritional education program. Demand for the program rose during the pandemic in 2020, with more than 160 participants and a wait list of 70. Expanding on the success of a 2020 grant, the funds will be used to purchase tools and materials for families to build garden boxes and planting, maintaining and harvest their home gardens.

Employee Sponsor: Jose Labrador | Omaha, NE

The site of the 1968 World’s Fair has become an inclusive, family-friendly park designed to emphasize health, wellness, equity and inclusion in the heart of downtown San Antonio. This US$6,500 grant will fund new solar structures with LED lighting to provide shade from the hot Texas sun during the day, while harvesting solar power for lighting in Hemisfair’s Tower Park at night. The project will include interpretive panels explaining green power and sustainability, adding an educational amenity to the park’s wide array of offerings.

Employee Sponsor: J.M. Gonzalez | San Antonio, TX

Through equine-assisted activities, the Heartland Equine Therapy Riding Academy physically and emotionally improves the lives of children and adults with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, brain tumors, head or spinal cord injuries, visual impairments, autism, developmental delays and strokes. This US$9,000 grant will fund materials for at-risk youth and young adults to build shelters to protect horses from overheating and exhaustion while outdoors in the summer months. The build will provide an educational opportunity for participants to develop teamwork, communication and time management skills.

Employee Sponsor: Teresa Konda | Omaha, NE

This US$10,120 grant will cover the purchase scientific and audio/visual equipment, learning tools and supplies, and educational materials for Native Prairies Association of Texas educational programs for high school girls from underrepresented backgrounds in the Houston area. The organization is dedicated to the conservation, restoration, and appreciation of native prairies, savannas, and other grasslands in Texas. Through the Deer Park Prairie Education Program, students will learn science and math through hands-on, interactive learning centered around Lawther-Deer Park Prairie, a 51-acre, never-plowed, native prairie remnant that is an excep­tional example of one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. 

Employee Sponsor: Erin Hatchett | Fort Worth, TX

Larchmont Charter School offers a unique approach to education, including an edible schoolyard used to teach students about eco-literacy. This US$20,000 grant will fund the replacement, repair and installation of irrigation systems to maintain and expand the gardens used for the edible school yard program. The program integrates environmental and biological science into the curriculum, teaching students about where food comes from, the soil and insects needed to grow food, supporting local farmers, composting and nutrition.

ElderHelp provides personalized services and information to help low-income seniors continue to live successfully in their own homes. This US$19,990 USD grant will help to purchase new and used office equipment, phone systems and computers to continue services without interruption after events beyond their control required a sudden office relocation. The continuity of services is particularly essential to the wellbeing of seniors, who have needed food, essential supplies and reassuring support for isolation and anxiety during COVID-19.

Employee Sponsor: Rick Veihl | San Diego, CA

The need for shelf stable and frozen meals for homebound seniors grew even greater during COVID-19. This US$20,000 grant will partially fund a new temperature-controlled meal delivery vehicle to help serve more senior clients with fewer volunteers due to social distancing requirements. Since March 2020, Meals on Wheels Central Texas has delivered 753,000 meals to home-bound seniors and added 1,300 new clients, and the new vehicle will help to safely deliver frozen foods and prevent food-borne illness to seniors in more distant locations.

Employee Sponsor: Zachary Stein | Austin, TX

This US$19,640 grant will create an urban habitat for butterflies and other pollinators while greening and beautifying a neglected section adjacent to the Dan Ryan Expressway in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Chicago Gateway Green will use the funds to purchase native perennials known to support the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Seen by thousands of drivers and transit riders daily, the new green space will promote the importance of biodiversity and sustainable landscaping.  

Employee Sponsor: Grace Rappe | Chicago, IL

WISE is a U.S.-based non-profit that actively supports women and their children at risk of abuse and abandonment in rural Zambia, a region with extreme poverty. This US$19,518 grant will provide the materials and labor to complete a 1,070-foot security fence around the main campus and women’s center, where property theft has jeopardized the continuity of proven, successful educational programs and vocational training. In 2021, WISE will support more than 300 students in 23 rural schools and 36 young adults in college, nursing or vocational schools.

Employee Sponsor: James Thomas | Austin, TX

Following a successful annual giving campaign, the HDR Foundation awarded more than US$105,000 to local food banks across the U.S. and Canada. More than 40 local food banks received grants in recognition of employees in HDR offices who met a special challenge related to our annual fund raising efforts.