“Giving back” is an integral part of SK&A’s culture, expressed not only through financial contributions, but also by employees at every level volunteering their time, sweat, money, and talents to causes that support the communities where we live and work.
The Washington Building Congress (WBC) included a special “Members Giving Back” feature in the Dec-Jan edition of their Bulletin magazine. SK&A is pleased to be among those firms recognized for giving back to the community. As seen in the article, some examples of SK&A’s charitable activities in 2022 included:
Montgomery County Little League
When the Montgomery County Little League (MCLL) reached out for help building a new scoreboard, SK&A stepped up, working pro bono to help navigate the permitting process with both Montgomery County and Maryland National Parks and Planning Commission (MNPPC). SK&A provided the delegated design drawings and served as the Structural Engineer-of-Record and the Special Inspector during the design and quality control phases of the project. The new scoreboard is now complete and installed on the field at North Chevy Chase Local Park.
American Odyssey Relay
Eight SK&A team members ran nine legs of the American Odyssey Relay/Potomac Relay totaling nearly 60 miles: from the C&O Canal in Brunswick, Maryland, past the beautiful Monocacy Aqueduct, past historic Riley’s Lock and Great Falls, then over the Key Bridge into VA and finishing at the SW Waterfront in Washington, DC. The 2022 American Odyssey Relay races raised funds for Hope Connections for Cancer Support and Team Red, White & Blue which supports wounded veterans.
The Well at Oxon Run
The Well at Oxon Run’s new community garden facilities, located in DC’s Eighth Ward, is an intergenerational farm and community wellness space that offers a pick-your-own flower garden, herb and pollinator gardens, farm stand, library, and amphitheater. This community gathering point provides gardening classes for all ages. In support of the launch of this new community space, SK&A provided pro bono structural design services for their new facilities.
JDRF Real Estate Games
SK&A staff joined hundreds of professionals from the Washington D.C. area design, construction and real estate communities to raise money for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) research at the 2022 JDRF Real Estate Games. Thirteen SK&A team members competed in a variety of events including Tennis, Basketball, Golf, Cornhole, Volleyball, and “Puzzle Me This” (a jigsaw puzzle-solving race!) Altogether, this year’s event raised over $600,000 for finding life-changing therapies and, ultimately, a cure for T1D.
CANstruction
CANstruction DC, organized by the Washington Architectural Foundation, is a fundraising competition that collects tens of thousands of canned food donations while raising awareness about hunger in the DC area. Seventeen SK&A volunteers worked to design and construct a sculpture using 1,212 cans of food. All of the food was then donated to the Capital Area Food Bank to feed the hungry in our community. The SK&A team built an Olympic Torch and Rings in a sculpture called A Torch Worth Carrying. Symbolically, the Olympic Torch Relay carries a message of peace and friendship along its route, passed from one person to another and inspiring those watching. SK&A’s CANstruction Torch represented the positive impact on hunger that can be achieved by carrying food to those in need and lighting a fire of inspiration in others to do the same.
Salvation Army Angel Tree Program
SK&A adopted five children for this year’s Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which helps provide Christmas gifts for children (“angels”) in need. Our staff and their families went on a company-paid shopping spree to purchase approximately $300 worth of items on each child’s wish list. All of the presents were brought into the office for sorting by SK&A’s “elves” and then delivered to our local Salvation Army National Capital Area Command via a minivan-model “sleigh!”
Additional Charitable Support
Additional charitable organizations and events that SK&A supported in 2022 include: Children’s National, Communities in Schools NOVA, CNMC Race for Every Child, Elizabeth Seton High School LEAD Program, Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center, Higher Achievement DC Metro, Hope Connections-Wellness Center for Cancer, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, March of Dimes, Martha’s Table, Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, Interfaith Works, NFG Communities in Schools, Northern Virginia Family Services, Philabundance, Pythagoras Lodge, SOME, Rebuilding Together, St. Jude Walk/Run, Virginia Family Services, Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, and Washington Project for the Arts.
