Volunteer Day

Every year the Firm takes part in a Firm Volunteer Day.  The chance to “give back” and contribute in some way is rewarding to all.  Each member of the Firm truly enjoys every experience and takes pleasure in meeting the other volunteers.  This year was no exception. 

In September, members of the Firm joined KABOOM!, Home Depot, and many other area volunteers to help build a playground for the children of the Glenville Wade Park neighborhood and the students of Harry E. Davis School.  The event was hosted by the Famicos Foundation along with KABOOM!, a national nonprofit organization. Materials and supplies were donated by Home Depot, and over 250 volunteers helped construct the playground.  The day’s weather was picture perfect and the energy was lively.  The on-site DJ kept all involved in high spirits. 

            The build was organized into several sub-projects for quick, efficient building.  Some members of the Firm helped paint mural panels to line the playground fence.  The highlight of this task was the assistance and artistic talents provided by various students.  Other Firm professionals painted Peace Poles.  Peace Poles are hand-crafted monuments that display the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” on each of its four sides, usually in different languages. There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace.  Peace Poles are often planted to commemorate special occasions.  The students of the Harry E. Davis School chose Chinese, Arabic, Polish, English, and Swahili, among other languages, to grace the sides of the Peace Pole.  Other members used his or her leadership skills to help coordinate and execute some of the various sub-projects, including assembling slides and other playground equipment, building benches, and distributing mulch for the base of the playground.

            Braylon Edwards of the Cleveland Browns also appeared at the event to show his support for community involvement and development. Each volunteer put forth their hard work and good spirits to build the playground in less than 8 hours! At the end of the day, as the volunteers were covered in dirt, paint, and a few blisters, everyone showed appreciation for one another for volunteering their time for a good cause.