Through 34 'Hearts & Hands' Grants, HDR Employees Volunteer to Strengthen Local Communities
HDR employees will lead 34 volunteer efforts as part of new “Hearts & Hands” grants, demonstrating the growing relationships between the company's workforce and the charities serving their communities.
The HDR Foundation distributed more than US$252,000 through 30 grants across the U.S., while the HDR Canada Fund awarded approximately $20,000 through four grants.
Each grant is sponsored by an HDR employee and supports a one-time project or activity that brings together multiple employees to volunteer in their communities. The grants address a local need aligned with one of the foundation’s key focus areas — education, healthy communities and environmental stewardship.
In Canada, a grant to the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of BC will provide art supplies for the Youth Mental Health Art Exhibition, which Vancouver employees will support as volunteers.
“Using the grant to host exhibitions of the art will challenge the stigma around mental health, start conversations, and celebrate the young artists,” said Jason Heinrich, associate sustainable principal and employee sponsor.
To support young students facing financial challenges, Jose Rodriguez, construction services lead, sponsored a grant to Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe, a preparatory school in El Paso, Texas, serving students in pre-K through fifth grade. The grant funded school supplies and student uniforms, which HDR’s El Paso employees assembled in backpacks distributed to students before the school year.
“Supporting La Fe and its students gives our employees the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in our community and the lives of local children,” Rodriguez said. “And that is something our team is truly proud to be a part of.”
A grant to the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida, will fund materials for HDR employees to install garden spaces and outdoor learning environments at schools located in food deserts and low-income areas.
“This grant demonstrates our commitment to support six new gardens at Title I schools, advancing the Green Schools Program’s goal of bringing gardens to every Orange County public school while enriching student learning, sustainability initiatives and classroom experiences,” said Anna Perry, transportation engineer-in-training and employee sponsor.
Read more about the latest grants.
About the HDR Foundation and HDR Canada Fund
The HDR Foundation provides grants to qualified organizations that align with HDR’s areas of expertise: education, healthy communities and environmental stewardship. As an employee-funded and employee-driven foundation, preference is given to organizations located in communities in which HDR employees live and work, and those with strong employee involvement. Since its inception, the HDR Foundation has provided more than $14 million in grants to over 700 organizations.
Modelled after the U.S.-based HDR Foundation, the HDR Canada Fund is a charitable fund held with the Vancouver Foundation, dedicated to serving communities across Canada in which our employees live and work. Since its inception in 2020, the HDR Canada Fund has awarded 83 grants totaling over CA$420,000.
About HDR
HDR is a 100% employee-owned professional services firm. Founded over a century ago to bring electricity to a changing world, we are now a global company specializing in architecture, engineering, environmental and construction services. Our success in built and natural environments continues as we collaborate to solve our clients’ and communities’ most complex challenges.
