Project Change - Burns & Mac Team

Mission Sleep Tight for Sleepyhead Beds

2011-12-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Mission Sleep Tight
Mission Sleep Tight is an initiative of Sleepyhead Beds, a nonprofit dedicated to the "comfort of beds for little heads." Sleepyhead Beds also arranges on-site pick-up of gently used mattresses and box springs. Go here to learn more about Sleepyhead Beds and here for more details on mattress donation and pick-up.

This December our team will be holding a collection drive benefiting the recipients of beds from Sleepyhead Beds. We will be collecting the following items:

- Sheets* - fitted, flat and pillowcases needed; don’t worry about matching or complete sets.

- Mattress Pads*

- Comforters*

- Pillows – New Please

*New or gently used; all sizes are welcome, but twin and full sizes are needed most.

Drop off your bedding donations in the collection bins located in the BMCD building through Dec. 29^th. Contact your local employee-owner if you'd like to make a donation to our collection!

2012 Project Change Challenge Information

2011-10-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again, time to start brainstorming creative community projects to meet Project Change's challenges! The event details have been released (see below for the official announcement)!

Official announcement from Project Change:

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The 2012 Project Change Challenge Event Details

Let's Roll! The 2012 Challenge is all about downsizing...sound familiar?! But in a good way! Understanding busy schedules and multiple commitments, we are scaling back on what is required of our teams in an effort to allow them to truly get the most out of their experience. Each challenge will charge teams to create a community service project to meet a humanitarian or environmental need within their local area. Teams will have the freedom to choose the cause they wish to champion and the ability to work together with their local non‐profit of choice, to plan and carry out their 2 TEAM PROJECTS. We will kick off in November, and at that time, the clock starts ticking!

In March we will have a Group Project workday where teams merely show up, no planning, gathering, expectation, etc. other than to get as many people as possible to show up and take part in making a difference for a few hours at a local non‐profit (location and date TBA).

That's all Folks! The end of our season will wrap up with an award ceremony that will be a must and a great time for all!

During this season, we are striving to prove the theory that Less is More, creating memories, connections, and making a difference with attention to the little details that change lives. You won't want to miss this year's challenge event, so contact us today to be part of this amazing, adventure!

Challenge 1: The Butterfly Effect ‐Due by February 20, 2012
Make a small change that may cause larger differences in the big picture. Try to think creatively, not necessarily monetarily, to impact an unknown or seldom discussed cause. This is YOUR chance to bring a voice to a little known need or issue, and put your unique spin on a small but impactful way to address it.

Spread your wings! Work with the local organization of your choice to find your cause and give it a voice! ALL TEAMS WILL WORK WITH A DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION! No doubling up, let's spread the love! (Prior to committing to the organization, your choice needs to be approved by Project Change.) Less is More! This isn't about going big, so try to focus on a simple need and response using your efforts to bring a unique creativity to it to make people take notice!

Challenge 2: GET DIRTY! Due by April 23rd, 2012

Roll up your sleeves and dig in! Remember what it was like to be a kid?! We are giving you permission to GET DIRTY, and create change with this hands‐on project! This challenge is all about making a difference where you can see the result before you leave! It is SO rewarding to see the change that takes place with a little elbow grease and hard work. Projects LARGE or small? Inside or outside? Doesn't make a difference! ALL are welcome and appreciated with much work to do around your community!

Work with the organization you have selected as a partner, (or a nearby site that will benefit them). Include people from the partnering organization in your efforts, planning, etc. Work hand in hand with those who will enjoy your hard work! TEAM effort on this one folks!
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No Deer Allowed!!!

2011-05-09T15:24:00.001-07:00

From the CGS Facilities Director John Gilbert:

I got a call from Larry Schmidt at 7:00 AM this morning, letting me know that there were four deer at the new garden, but that they were OUTSIDE of the mammoth deer fence.

Jeff Cothern later confirmed the story to me, but corrected Larry’s count, changing it to five. But, Jeff also assured me that they were all OUTSIDE the deer fence that can be seen from the space shuttle.

Great work!!!!
JG

A Garden to Last Many Years to Come!

2011-05-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Tucked away on the outskirts of Kansas City lies an organization that brings hope to countless lives. For over 40 years the Community of the Good Shepherd (CGS) has been serving adults with disabilities. Approximately 50 adults live at CGS, and many more actively participate in the great day programs that CGS provides.

After meeting with the amazing staff and residents at CGS, we realized that this is a special place. We also quickly learned that their greatest wish was to have a garden. They wanted to produce fresh fruit and veggies and also allow the residents to join in on the gardening fun. What a great opportunity to Grow Change -> Create Hope!

Our Burns & McDonnell + Spaces Inc. team became thrilled at this great opportunity. The excitement and desire to help was contagious. We were grateful to have Kansas City Community Gardens on board to help with planting and garden design and Turner Construction to donate their time and materials to build the facility director's dream shed. How cool is that?!?

The first day we assembled a team together to begin creating the raised beds for the garden, and it was snowing! How are we supposed to garden in the snow? Our determined crew worked hard through the weather conditions, ate some pizza, and worked some more to get 14 raised beds constructed. The next work day was our big day, and it turned out to be a beautiful one. We had over 20 people participate to continue building a garden, storage shed, and truly create change! Volunteers were all over the place: digging post holes, shoveling soil, putting up the fence, and most of all, having fun. Of course we could not have done it without residents Jeff and Larry, overseeing the work and manning the water and snacks tent. Before long a garden appeared before our eyes. Now it was time to get dirty and do some planting. It was a fantastic sight to see the plants in the beds, and witness the growth taking place.

CGS will continue to provide their wonderful services for years and years, and residents will come and go, but the bounty of the garden will live on for years to come.

Another Lovely Workday

2011-04-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

After a very cold and gloomy start to this Saturday, the sun decided to grace us with it's presence and it turned out to be a great day. Our main tasks for the day were to finish two gates on the fence, and to dig up a path to the main entrance. The path was a strenuous task, but the eager crew got down and dirty and finished it out. They put down a weed mat and mulch will soon be placed to make it match the existing path next to it. After some trial and error(s), the gates came together, and thankfully they work! This will hopefully keep the deer and rabbits out, until they figure out how to work the latch!

The group after finishing up the path!

Look! A Garden!

2011-04-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Our first big group workday was a great success! As you can see abov there wasn't too much out there before we started working. When everyone arrived on thatbeautiful morning, there were only a few stakes in the ground.

The wheels soon began turning though! 24 post holes were dug for our 4"x4" fence posts to go in. At the same time volunteers started hauling all of the raised beds into place, and leveling them out (or close enough :) ). Once we got all 14 beds in place and level we started hauling dirt. The dirt pile/mountain soon started dwindling as eager voulnteers began carting their precious cargo up the hill and too the beds. Ben Sharda from KC Community Gardens gave us some great tips for a handy dirt dumping method with the wheelbarrows, which was pretty slick. Even with the mid 80s weather, the team soldiered on and got all the beds filled.

Check it out! it's got plants!!

Meanwhile the fence crew was chugging along getting all the posts plumb and in their holes, and compacting the soil at the base. Then we nailed two layers of the 4'x16' cattle panels to the posts. Take that deer! We also had to add some chicken wire to the bottom to keep those killer rabbits out too!

In order to keep the weeds down we placed cut to fit rolls of carpet face down in between the raised beds. This will also keep it from getting too muddy. Ben from KCCG showed back up around this time with the prized posessions - seeds and plants! We got some of the residents involved in the planting and watering, and they all looked like they were having quite the time!

The fence

We can't wait to come back next weekend to finish up a few things and hopefully see how our plants are coming along!

Dirt, Dirt and more Dirt!

2011-04-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Our workday this past weekend was a great success! Holes were dug, fences were erected, beds were placed and wheelbarrows were loaded/dumped and repeated! More details and pictures to come!

All Good in the Garden!

2011-04-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Team BMCD/Spaces is off to a great start for April. Despite the late March/early April snow (and walking uphill both ways) the team managed to get together to build 14 - 4'x12' raised beds that will go into the garden we're helping build at the Community of the Good Shepherd. We can't wait to get them in there and get to planting! Hard to imagine things growing when it's still snowing this late. But alas, the sun will come out tomorrow. Anticipation is building for an epic workday that will hopefull place these beds and get an anti-deer fence erected to guard the oh so delicious vegetables that we hope to see growing soon.

2011-02-21T07:25:00.001-08:00

March - Feel A Need for TLC

2011-02-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

The Burns McDonnell and Spaces, Inc. team are working with TLC Therapeutic Learning Center to help them fill a need for March. TLC is asking for our community service project help in refurbishing their “Bus Waiting Room”. This is a room where parents and teachers meet to drop off and pick up their children. It is a lounge as well as a play room and storage area for car seats. We are turning this room into a ZOO theme with lots of fun and interesting characters to look at and study on the walls. We plan to turn this room into warm, inviting and interesting setting so people will enjoy sitting in this lounge for parents and play room for the children. We will make this the most comfortable and inviting room in the school.

We also plan to continue the ZOO theme throughout the hallway outside the classroom doors. We are planning on making each classroom a special themed ZOO animal room. We plan to paint a different ZOO animal mural over and around each doorway for the students to identify each room as the "Zebra Room", "Penguin Room", "Monkey Room", "Turtle Room", or "Lion Cub Room". This is a need that TLC is asking us to fulfill, so the kids will have more fun and welcoming for all.

We also discovered a need as we were in discussions with TLC and developing our fill a need theme. TLC is in need of purchasing therapeutic exercise equipment for their kids. There is need to raise money so that they can purchase this equipment so we are organizing and implementing a fundraiser.

The fundraiser will be a Family Poker Tournament on March 3rd from 5:00PM to 9:00PM. It will be held at Johnny’s Tavern (1310 Grand Blvd. KCMO) in the Power and Light. We welcome everyone to register and pay $40.00 dollars for the entry fee to see if you can take up the cash prize for first, second or third place. We are also selling raffle tickets for this event, $5.00 for one ticket or $20.00 for 5 tickets. We will have some very high quality products, services and gifts that we will raffle off all evening. We encourage everyone to please purchase the raffle tickets and sign up for the Poker tournament.

For registration for this event please contact Stephanie Volk at TLC, svolk@childrenstlc.org. Or phone Stephanie at 816-756-0780 ext. 2138.
We will raffle off a Toshiba 32” flat screen TV value of $520.00, Falcon Ridge Golf Outing value of $316.00, JCCC Performing Arts Series for the Joffrey Ballet Performance value of $130.00, also we have a Spa Package, Restaurant Gift Certificates, Sporting Event Tickets, and much more!
Please sign up today to help us raise the necessary funds to help TLC purchase this equipment and help us fill this need for TLC!

Carnival Games for Down Syndrome Guild of KC

2011-02-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

The Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas City (DSG) holds several annual events in which family, friends, and volunteers of the organization come together for an afternoon of fun and games. For each event, DSG rents several carnival games from a local supplier. Each game costs about one hundred dollars to rent each time. Over a couple years, it adds up! We found to be the perfect opportunity for Burns & Mac and Spaces to apply our skills to help DSG in a creative way. DSG already had the resources put aside for this project so our team did not have to spend a dime. Additionally, we knew that February's theme of "Change Without $Change$” was not so much about things as much as people. We decided to work with the DSG STARS (Special Teens Achieving Real Success) in deciding what games to build, and how to build them. Hanging out with the DSG STARS, getting paint everywhere, and dancing to some Jonas Brothers, was truly a treat (and entertaining) for all involved.

Over January and February, we met with STARS three times. Our first meeting was an ice breaker in which we went through introductions (you work at McDonald’s??!!) and held a friendly competition of building the tallest possible tower out of toothpicks and marshmallows. DSG is always looking for ways to expose STARS teens to different careers and so this small contest was a great way to show them some things that engineers do. We then brainstormed as a group to decide which of their favorite carnival games we were to build. We decided on Bucket Toss, Washers, Prize Wheel, and Sucker Tree. At our second meeting, we utilized donated painting to let the teens apply some artistic flair to each masterpiece. We also had time to play board games when the work was complete. During our third and final event, we tested out the games by playing them and giving out prizes. Everyone was a winner! Perhaps the most memorable part of the meeting was dancing the night away with STARS to the Hannah Montana soundtrack.

Working with STARS and DSG was fun, educational, and inspirational for us as volunteers. Prior to these events, few of us understood what Down syndrome really was, and how it affects people’s behavior. After spending some quality time with STARS, it is easy to see that each individual with Down syndrome has his or her own strong personality, and will say the darnedest things as any teenager will. A DSG volunteer coordinator pointed out that she had never seen some of the STARS teens as animated as when they were interacting with us. It’s great to know that we made a last impression on some of the teens we worked with. And although we left DSG with some (hopefully) long lasting carnival games, we took away experiences that are even more valuable. DSG has already expressed interest in working with our group in the future. We hope to find some volunteers on the BMcD/Spaces team that would like to continue with future volunteer activities with DSG.

ReStart Group Project

2010-12-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

Project Change teams got an early chance to help out and get involved in the community this past Saturday at ReStart in downtown KC. Spaces/Burns & Mac provided almost a dozen volunteers to help put together backpacks full of items for teens and baskets for families for those in need around KC. These teens don't have a lot to call their own but this backpack will be all theirs! The baskets were also filled with necessities for the families that we tend to take for granted. Additionally, notes of encouragement, toiletries and other goodies were included. We also had the opportunity to serve a holiday meal to the families and help clean up at ReStart. There were so many volunteeers there that all of the tasks were done so fast they had to find more things for us to do!

Partner Organizations Chosen for Challenges!

2010-11-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Things are getting exciting! Woo-woooot! We're laying all the groundwork right now so we can start rolling on these projects.

Challenge 1:
Create Change without $change$ - February
A wise man once said, mo' money mo' problems. Well we have no money, and no problems! For February's challenge we are teaming up with the Down Syndrome Guild of KC. One thing we're looking into is helping with some programming to entertain and hang out with these wonderful kids. A meeting with DSG tomorrow should help give us some more ideas of ways we can help.

Challenge 2:
See-A-Need -> Fill-A-Need - March
Ever heard of Children's TLC? Shazam! Now you have! Spaces Inc. is spearheading this effort to help make this awesome place even awesomer (yep I just made up a word), and hopefully a bit more warm and inviting for the kids, parents and families. We're also looking into a specialized bike for kids with disabilities. Everyone at TLC is so passionate, and it's contagious! But in a good way, not like the chicken pox.

Challenge 3:
Grow Change -> Create Hope – April
For Challenge 3 we have decided to work with Community of the Good Shepherd and help them with a large community garden among other things. Hopefully this will give the adult residents a place to get their hands dirty while also complementing their diet with some fresh vegetables. Who doesn't like fresh vegetables?? Small children for one, but they'll grow to love them someday!

Bonus Challenge - A Door too Far - May-???
Operation Breakthrough
Project Change Bonus Edition!!! We just can't get enough of Operation Breakthrough; what a great organization. We're excited to continue our work and maintenance on the outdoor classroom at Operation Breakthrough. This summer may also serve as a great opportunity to have all the kids and their families gather in the classroom for a little summer bbq and party! I call not being the grillmaster!

Challenge Projects Almost Chosen!

2010-11-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

The Spaces/Burns & Mac team met after the PC Kickoff Meeting and decided on the 3 (err...4) groups we wanted to work with, and projects we have in mind. There were too many great groups to chose from for the given challenges, so in addition to doing our 3 Team projects, we also decided to do a 4th to continue our work with Operation Breakthrough! Project leaders for the other 3 challenges have been assigned and are now working with the beneficiary groups to see what we can do to help them. The project scopes will be narrowed at the next meeting, and more information will be available for the Lunch and Learn (informational) meeting at Burns & Mac Monday December 6th. The wheels of Change are turning!

Project Change Team Expo & Kick-Off

2010-10-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

This event is a GREAT WAY to kick off the 2011 Challenge Event! We will have inspirational guest speakers and about 20 charitable organizations explaining how they impact the community and how your team could help. Food and drink provided.

When: November 2nd 2010, 5:30-7:30p.m.
Where: Eden Alley -707 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO

http://www.projectchange-kc.org/news/rsvp-team-expo-and-kick-event

2011 Challenges Arrive Early!

2010-10-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

We just got the three different challenges for 2011! Great challenges call for great ideas, and we’re ready to start brainstorming. Still lots of time before our first challenge submission, but it’s time to spread the word and get people thinking and talking. Write down any idea you have, no matter how big, small, far-fetched, lofty, or off the wall it may be! The fourth (group) challenge will occur in May and is to be announced at the kick-off party November 2nd at Eden Alley on the Plaza.

Challenge One
Create Change without $change$ - Submission due by or before February 18, 2011.
No Money? NO PROBLEM! This project is meant to address the ongoing speed bump that keeps people from getting involved - CASH! Your team will be challenged to put your creativity to the test and leave your wallets at home! No need to purchase items, ask for money or use your own, there are many opportunities to repurpose existing items, donate your time, spend time with someone, build relationships and connect to make a difference. Let's shed that roadblock and a little light on new ways to get involved at the same time!

Challenge Two
See-A-Need -> Fill-A-Need - Submission due by or before March 25th, 2011
Making a difference can be simple! During this project, you are challenged to work together with your selected benefiting organization to identify a basic need. Your team will provide comfort by finding a creative way to reach across the gap and work together to fill it!

Challenge Three
Grow Change -> Create Hope – Submission due by or before April 29th, 2011
During your final project we challenge you to choose something that will continue to make an impact after you leave. This could mean SO many things! Plant a tree or community garden, teach someone to read, restore, repurpose or create an item that will continue to aid someone in your community or educate others about a local need and grow change beyond Project Change!

Move Life Forward at Operation Breakthrough

2010-09-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

The Outdoor Classroom is looking GREAT!

Operation Breakthrough provides daily care and education to more than 600 children ages 6 weeks to 15 years, from working‐poor families. In addition, they offer a broad range of social services for the children and their families, nearly all of which are headed by single women. Burns & McDonnell and Spaces, Inc. helped design and begin renovation of an existing empty lot into an Outdoor Classroom for the Operation Breakthrough children in Spring 2009. In 2010, some work still remained to complete the vision.

Over four workdays in April, May, and June, teams of volunteers from Burns & McDonnell and Spaces, Inc. tore out and replaced weather-worn portions of a previously installed perimeter fence, scraped old paint off the fence, applied two brand new coats of paint to the fence, added a brick border to the existing path, completed new brick and gravel paths, dug a dozen post holes, installed a new wooden entryway, and added fence posts for future expansion of the unique door fence. The work that was completed this year moved the Outdoor Classroom at Operation Breakthrough several steps closer to completion. It’s great to see that the classroom is already providing a safe, engaging, and nourishing outdoor space for urban youth to immerse their senses in natural surroundings. Further work by the Burns & McDonnell and Spaces, Inc. team at the Outdoor Classroom is planned in 2011 to make this positive experience for the children even better.

2010 - Bring Change to Hope House

2010-09-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

The Team Ready To Work!

With over 13,000 occupants since 1995, Hope House has brought “hope” to many women and children escaping domestic violence, but this month the facility itself was in need of hope. Home to up to 52 women and children at a time, the Independence shelter was experiencing problems with infestations and heavy wear.

The weekend of February 6th marked the challenge in which volunteers came together to rehab the living quarters within the shelter. The team removed old furniture, carpet and base boards, then cleaned the rooms, put on a fresh coat of paint and laid new ceramic tile in six separate rooms. “This team completed work in two days that would have taken us at least six weeks,” said Gary Ashmore, Hope House Facility Manager. By implementing these changes in two days, the Project Change team enabled Hope House to keep its facilities open to as many survivors as possible during the renovation period. In 2009, 754 women and 474 children found shelter at Hope House; a total of 35,000 bed nights. For 337 nights out of the year the shelter was full. When the rooms are closed for rehabilitation, they can’t be used. The collaboration of our team provided shelter and hope to some of the region’s most vulnerable families by keeping the beds open and revitalizing six living spaces for those most in need.

Pulling off some old carpet

2010 Intro

2010-09-23T10:37:00.002-07:00

So we start again! The 2010 project themes (challenges) have been released. This year things are going to change a bit, instead of having 4 different events during Feb-May, we’ll be having 3 monthly events and the last month (May) will be a group event in which all the teams and community members will be participating.

The 3 themes for this year are: People, Places and Things. They are VERY broad therefore we’ll be able to do just about anything!

We met up and decided what each event will be so here are the three organizations we’ll be working with:

The final project in May, we’ll get to help improve the Ivanhoe Park. To find out more details on any of these events please continue to visit our blog or contact Laura Mersmann at lmersmann@burnsmcd.com or Will Kirby at wkirby@burnsmcd.com

2009 Wrap-Up

2010-09-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

The ending of 2008 and beginning of 2009 was a crazy time for the B&M team. Even though we started this adventure as just Burns & Mac, we teamed up with Spaces Inc. and with the help we tackled the 4 month projects. We had some good days and some bad, but overall we succeeded and enjoyed the time that we spent making burritos, sewing blankets, getting our hands dirty at Operation Breakthrough and working with the kids. At the awards ceremony our team tied for 2nd place. It’s been a great year and we’ll be back for 2010. Stay tuned for what 2010 will bring to Project Change.

Nurture The Children

2010-09-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

The Burns & McDonnell and Spaces, Inc. Team worked with Operation Breakthrough to accomplish our fourth challenge, “Nurture the Children”.

We have been busy constructing the Outdoor Classroom for the Operation Breakthrough children throughout March, April and May. It was a natural transition to develop a curriculum to assist the professional personnel at Operation Breakthrough with their plans to nurture and engage the children in this environmental classroom. The curriculum includes lessons that will provide learning materials for all seasons and is sustainable in its philosophy to bring education to hundreds of children year after year. It includes workbooks, teaching guides, books and tool kits for hands on experiences. This took us two months to develop but will last forever. Each workbook consists of twelve areas in the garden that were constructed for the instructor and child to work within. The workbooks contain questions that the children answer to help in their educational process. There is the Digging Area for exploring soil, the Art Area for creativity, the Butterfly Garden and Bird Watching Area for observing, the Stage Area for expression, the Sand Area for touching, the Vegetable Area for sight and taste, the Wind Area for creativity and touching, the Rain Garden for environmental education, the Prairie Restoration Area for them to care for, the Storybook Nook for independent or shared reading, and the Hippo Area for physical education.

Within each of these venues we provided various reading books to relate the visual experience to the written education and direction. The tool kits include a clipboard, a magnifying glass, binoculars, measuring tape, and note pad assisting with the hands-on and experimental parts of the lessons. The curriculum also includes classroom activities for both the child and instructor to experience and learn from within the individual venues. These activities include games, science projects and other experiences for the ultimate, five-sense, learning environment. Each lesson plan follows the State of Missouri School Standards to bring a secured, solid foundation of learning for Operation Breakthrough, its teachers, children and their families and caregivers.

Save the Planet

2010-09-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Team Burns & Mac and Spaces Inc. Volunteers!

The Burns & McDonnell and Spaces team worked for Operation Breakthrough to plant the seeds of an engaging and nourishing outdoor space for urban youth. The vision is a natural, restorative oasis amidst the asphalt jungle of the city's urban core. The Outdoor Classroom will be a safe place where children can immerse their senses in natural surroundings.

Our plans for the outdoor classroom

Throughout the month of April over 50 volunteers came together to produce a site layout, build a fence out of recycled doors, and start laying the groundwork for an outdoor oasis for the children of Operation Breakthrough. Burns & McDonnell and Spaces worked closely with Operation Breakthrough to develop a vision for the site. The site plan includes features to stimulate all of the senses. A vegetable garden, a sound garden, butterfly garden, toddler area, rain garden, and a center stage are just a few features of the site plan. Each piece can be completed individually as more volunteers and supporters come on board.

The fence is the most important piece of the site as it provides a safe barrier from the outside world. In an effort to use recycled materials the fence was constructed of discarded doors. Seldom Found Architecturals donated 100 beautiful used doors. Turner Construction provided skilled labor by digging all of the post holes. Paint was provided by Habitat For Humanity, Kansas City Restore. Volunteers worked during three Saturdays to wash and paint each door, place each post, and hang the doors.

Here's a section of the final product:

Reach Out and Read

2010-08-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our 2010 season by teaming up with Spaces to help an organization called Reach Out and Read (ROR). ROR is a program that works with doctors to promote youth literacy. To learn more about this program, please visit http://www.reachoutandread.org/.

Our mission was to revitalize several ROR locations in Kansas City - Sam Rodgers Health Center, Swope Parkway Health Center, and Mercy and Truth Health Clinic. We came up with different ways to improve the children's waiting areas, which included building new bookshelves, installing new carpet, designing new ROR posters, and painting a once-blank wall.

By the end of the project, we had three brand new waiting areas. We are hoping that this helps the kids get excited about reading. And who knows.. maybe they'll look forward to going to the doctor's office!

Our Feed the Hungry Event!!

2009-04-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

For our March event, Burns & McDonnell together with Spaces Inc. partnered with City Union Mission (CU Mission) – Family Center to provide breakfast for about 100 women, men and children living at the center. City Union Mission provides shelter, food, and spiritual guidance for those in need. The Family Center is a sub-organization of CU Mission which provides a home feel residence for the families who need assistance for a short period of time to get back on their feet.

The breakfast menu included: breakfast burritos made of tortillas, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, salsa, potatoes; donuts, bagels, sweet bread, and orange juice. The day began at 6:00 a.m. when the team met to begin cooking the burritos. With the help of 24 volunteers, we made over 120 burritos for the residents who came in for breakfast in the morning of March 28th. Along with the burritos, we served 20 dozen donuts, 14 gallons of orange juice, and a variety of rolls, breads, and bagels. As the people came in for breakfast, our team handed out an information card with details on Kansas City’s various organizations dedicated to helping those in need. Overall the day was a great success and we were able to meet all our goals!

Our team was able to get food for the event by working with local businesses to donate the items we had planned for our menu. Our event could not have been as great a success as it was without generous donations from Panera, Krispy Kreme, LaMar’s, Mendolias Sausage, Silva Foods, and Target. Thank You to the CU Mission, businesses and volunteers!!!

Here are a few pictures:

Frank, Dave and Laura cracking three of the 120 eggs we used!

Kevin, Dong-Hyeon, Laura & Maria getting the 15 lbs of sausage ready for cooking donated by Mendolia's!

Cooking all those eggs and all the meat for the burritos.

Cutting all the bagles and breads donated by Panera.

Some of the donuts (Krispy Kream and LaMar's) waiting for breakfast to begin.

Some of the CU Mission Family Center residents who came by for some great breakfast!

Mission accomplished! Burns & Mac Together with Spaces completed their second event.

For more pictures please visit: http://lauractorres.shutterfly.com/projectchange

March – Feed the Hungry Update

2009-03-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

The day of the event is finally set in stone; we will be making and serving breakfast for the Family Center at City Union Mission on Saturday the 28th of March. We expect to have around 100 client and we are all very excited.

The menu includes:

Breakfast Burritos
Krispy Kreme Donuts
La Mars Donuts
Bagels
Sweet Rolls
Cheese Rolls
Bread
Orange Juice

We will be getting donations from:

Krispy Kreme - 10 dozen fresh donuts
LaMars -10 dozen fresh donuts
Panera – Bagels, sweet rolls, chesse rolls, bread
Mendolia Sausage – 15lbs of breakfast sausage\
Silva Foods – 2 gallons of salsa, 150 10” tortillas, 5lbs of chips
Target - $50 in gift cards
B&M – Cups
Spaces – Info cards

We are VERY excited to get these donations and there might be one or two more before the date of the event.
During the event as each client is getting their breakfast we will also be handing out an informational card, which will have the same information that the blankets did.

The important dates for the Feed the Hungry Project are as follows:

Thursday 3/19/09 – Tentative deadline to volunteer
Wednesday 3/25/09 – Volunteer meeting
Saturday 3/28/09 – Day of the event

On the 28th of March our day will begin at 6:30AM when we will meet in the kitchen of the Family Center located at: 13th and Wabash. From there we will separate into people who want to set –up and those who want to cook. Breakfast will be served at 8AM and they will have 30min. to eat. We should be able to be done by around 9:30AM.

We need a total of 22 volunteers to cook, serve, set-up and clean-up. So far we have a few volunteers (mainly from Spaces) so if you are interested on helping that day please contact me (Laura Torres) at ltorres@burnsmcd.com) or Dave Sharpe at dsharpe@burnsmcd.com by March 19th. In the e-mail please put Feed the Hungry as a subject and let us know if you can be there for the whole three hours or if you would like to be a back-up. We will be meeting the 25th of March for a meeting to go over details of the day of. The meeting will be at noon and hosted by Spaces Inc.

We hope to see a lot of you there!
Laura, Dave and the Feed the Hungry Team.

Blanket Distribution

2009-03-11T07:21:00.001-07:00

The team gathered outside Hope Faith Ministries downtown

Organizing all 80 blankets by size!

Melissa McGee (Burns & McDonnell) handing out a blanket

Caitlin Boies and two new blanket owners!

Sewing Day Photos

2009-03-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Volunteers from two Olathe junior high schools helped our team complete almost 80 blankets!

It took several Saturdays...

...and lots of hard work!

Friends from Knoll turned out to help.

Amy Pierce (Spaces) and Melissa McGee (Burns & McDonnell)

Warming the Homeless Event

2009-03-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

On a Saturday morning in February the Burns & McDonnell/Spaces team gathered downtown at Hope Faith Ministries, their mission underscored by the heavy snowstorm that had blanketed the ground and continued to fall. The team was here to distribute 80 handmade blankets, lovingly sewn by area school children and church groups from donated commercial fabrics. Bearing in mind the needs of those displaced by misfortune and fate, these blankets folded compactly into pillows that could be easily transported, and which bore a list of area homeless services and bus routes. Over a thousand needy Kansas Citians shuffled through the shelter that morning, looking for a hot meal, some warm clothes and a break from the cold. It is our hope that they found much more: a unique and beautiful item for them to own and cherish, stitched with the care of a community that surrounds and supports them.

Save the Planet Sub Committee Meeting and Update

2009-02-06T06:14:00.000-08:00

The group has been working hard on brainstorming ideas for the Outdoor Classrooms. This past week, a design charrette was held at Operation Breakthrough which included nearly nine Operation Breakthrough staff members. The charrette covered the staff member’s vision of the outdoor classroom, areas of improvement, ideas, four top priorities, and sketches of the proposed site. Input from Operation Breakthrough staff was essential in moving forward with a design. The following are ideas that everyone has come up with for different activities for the children to engage in and bring the site together.

Fence – Vegetation – Native Plants – Focal Classroom Stage – Set Entrance - Rain Garden – Educational Displays – Sound Garden – Art Wall – Climbing Wall – Vegetable Garden – Composting / Recycling – Toddler Area – Bird House and Feeder Area – Rain Barrel – Willow Structures – Worm Farm – Yellow Brick Road – Tree House – Stumps – Benches – Fossil Area – Developing a Curriculum – Butterfly Garden – Naming Contest

There are so many great ideas that will give the children an amazing experience in their outdoor classroom. Although out group won’t be able to do all of them, we can sure begin to turn the space into an educational urban oasis. The Save the Planet Sub-Committee will be working on preparing three different designs of the Outdoor Classroom in the next couple weeks. We are looking for anyone and everyone to participate in our own design session from 12:00 - 1:00 PM Thursday February 12, 2009 in CR 298 of the 9400 Building at Burns & McDonnell. There will be a lot of trace paper and markers for everyone to help sketch how they envision the outdoor classroom.

Everyone is welcome to come and let their creativity run loose, so I hope to see many of you at 12:00 on February 12th in CR 298.

Nature Deficit Disorder…

2009-01-28T09:13:00.000-08:00

This is a quote by Aileen Murphy-Swift, a director at Operation Breakthrough. She is using Richard Louv's book:

Last Child in the Woods

"Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder"

People need nature - really need nature, not merely enjoy nature or benefit from nature. Children need experiences with nature just as they need sleep or healthy food. Why? Richard Louv spends much of his book Last Child in the Woods explaining exactly what nature offers children:

Emotional well being
Spiritual sense of perspective
Observation skills
Cognitive abilities
Creativity
Healthy risk taking
Observation skills
Balanced sense of humility
Stress management
Increased attention
Lowered depression

How can nature offer all of these advantages? Primarily because it involves all of the senses. He contrasts it with television and computers which are mainly dual-sensory, appealing only to the eyes and ears. And what if we lack this time with nature? Louv calls the result nature deficit disorder. Unfortunately, our culture has created this disorder with a criminalization of natural play. An irrational fear of the woods and the things that go on there, a general mistrust of strangers, a sense of panic over crime, and a fear of litigation all work against children's delight in the outdoors. Parents simply are afraid to let their children play, unfettered in nature which is exactly what Louv says they need. Free, unstructured time to explore, pretend, and create outdoors is the antidote to nature deficit disorder. And today's families are far too fearful, too busy or are lacking access to spaces in which to provide this freedom.

The remedy? Read Louv's book, and you will realize that we truly need nature as we need water and shelter. When it is no longer a leisure pastime but a life's necessity, most parents will make time to enjoy nature alongside their children. There is no substitute for direct experiences in nature. No books, online course, website, or lecture can take the place of touching, seeing, smelling for yourself. Those indirect methods of learning about nature, versus experiencing nature, lead to a "know it all" state of mind. But time spent entranced by nature's spell generates a sense of wonder, awe, and humble perspective.

Call for Volunteers!

2009-01-23T09:55:00.001-08:00

The Warming the Homeless team has two SEWING EVENTS coming up! Two Olathe middle schools have opened their sewing rooms to us, and volunteered the help of their Family & Consumer Sciences (FACS) students. We can use your help, even if you can't sew! There will be cutting, pinning, ironing and other general tasks to perform. Please email me at jjecker@burnsmcd.com for the Outlook invite with more details.

Saturday, January 31st at Prairie Trails

Saturday, February 7th at Frontier Trail

When are the next round of meetings?

2009-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

Warm the Homeless: Monday, January 26th: 11:45am - 12:45pm, location: TBA
Feed the Hungry: Wednesday, January 28th: 12:00 - 1:00pm, lcoation: SCR 2528
Save the Planet: Wedneday, February 4th: 12:00 - 1:00pm, SR 3525
Nurture the Children: TBA

Feed the Hungry Update

2009-01-21T06:06:00.000-08:00

At the meeting on January 14th we got many things accomplished. We were able to finalize the menu, make a list of everything we needed and came up with names of companies we thought might be willing to donate them.

The Event

The tentative dates we have are March 4th or 11th, 2009. That day we will be getting together at around 3am to cook the meal. Once it's all done, packed and ready to go we will divide into two or three groups and go to various locations to hand everything out. I created a map with the locations that we are looking at for now visit this link to view the map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112052920669081083431.000460eb2d292f16df67b&ll=39.104755,-94.575119&spn=0.199545,0.307617&z=12&iwloc=000460ebff0656a5202e8.

The Menu

Breakfast burritos
Bread
Donuts
Coffee
Orange juice

Donations

Tortillas and Salsa by Lil' Guys.
Sausage, eggs, potatoes and cheese, orange juice, aluminum foil - will be asking Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Costco.
Bread by Panera/Einstein Bros.
Donuts - will be asking Krispy Kream.
Coffee
Coolers - will borrow from our members!
Thermos and plastic cups - will be asking B&M.
Business cards by Spaces Inc.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday January 28th, noon - 1pm. Location TBA.

That's all for now, if anybody has any ideas of places to check out to hand out the food or stores who might be able to help us with donations please make a comment on this post!

Save the World - Pictures of the Site

2009-01-18T15:01:00.001-08:00

The following pictures are from the site where we will be making the green classroom for Operation Breakthrough.

2009-01-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Burns & McDonnell/Spaces Project Change Team...well, some of them anyway.

April - Save the World Subcommittee

2009-01-12T06:13:00.000-08:00

Please come join the April subcommittee working on the “Save the Planet” project! The project involves, making additions to an existing an urban nature park for the children of Operation Breakthrough. We will be meeting in Conference Room SR 3525 (Raptor) on the 3rd floor of the Burns & McDonnell State Line Building Wednesday January 21st from 12:00 – 1:00 PM. Bring your lunch, ideas, and excitement for this great project with Operation Breakthrough! Please email snorton@burnsmcd.com if you plan on attending.

We will begin with a thorough background of the project and site which will lead us into a discussion of the vision that Operation Breakthrough has given us on the project. We will describe the various components of the project that we will be focusing on and initial plans for those areas.

The second half of the meeting, we will be discussing various ways to obtain donations for the main components of the project:

· Securing the site (fencing)
· Beautifying the site (plants)
· Controlling Storm Water on the Site (rain garden)
· Using Recycled Materials on the Site (tire planters, seating, etc.)

This meeting will really focus on using our contacts and resources to find donated and recycled materials. Please come with a list of contacts, resources, and ideas of getting materials donated for the main components mentioned above.

This project has the opportunity to be very creative and touch the lives of tens to hundreds of children who participate with Operation Breakthrough. This project will to be very exciting, challenging, and fun so we hope to see many of you on the 21st!!!

- Stephen Norton and Greg Stark

Feeding the Hungry Subcommittee Meeting

2009-01-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

If you would like to help with the March event of "Feeding the Hungry" please join us! We will be meeting in conference room SCR1548 on the first floor of the Burns & Mac State Line building Wednesday January 14th 12:00 - 1:00. Feel free to bring your lunch.

At this meeting we hope to get some details figured out, such as:

What food do we want to give
Where can we get donations
Where can we cook
How to keep the food warm through the morning
and more..

I have come up with a temporary menu which includes:

Cinnamon Rolls
Hard boiled eggs
Coffee/Orange juice/hot cocoa
Breakfast Burritos : Eggs, Sausage, Salsa, Cheese, Potatoes, Tortillas, Muffins, Bread
Non-food needs: Aluminum Foil, Cups

We will be taking a break during the meeting to join the rest of the group and taking the group picture for the Project Change website.

Come join us with some ideas and hopefully we will have things narrowed down more by the end of the meeting. Hope to see you there!

Logistics...

2009-01-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who attended a very productive and enthusiastic Team Meeting #5 yesterday. Great to have each of you onboard for this exciting 4 month experience. In the short-term, I want to let everybody know some things we need to take care of.

At next week's Warm the Homeless meeting (Wednesday 1/14), we will be taking a team photo, posed with the patchwork blankets. This photo will be posted on the Project Change website!

We also need to come up with a team name, so please offer any suggestions...

Here are our 4 monthly project ideas:
February = patchwork blankets for the homeless
March = on-site hot breakfast for the hungry
April = sustainable rain garden for the planet
May = outdoor adventure classroom for the children

For each project, we are asked to submit 10 pictures and a project narrative to be publicized and judged by Project Change.

Here are the contest categories on which we'll be judged:
-Largest number of participants at service events
-Best challenge submission
-Most innovative project
-Greatest opportunity for sustainability (continuing work)
-Greatest impact
-People's choice award

This is the first and last time that I will mention these judging categories. Our projects will be organized and executed with only the following criterion: to focus and amplify the efforts of our peers and coworkers on behalf of the people that we aspire to serve.

Thanks everyone, let's get busy!

Warming the Homeless Subcommittee Meeting

2009-01-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Anyone interested in serving on the subcommittee for February's Project Change activity, "Warming the Homeless", is invited to attend.

Truman conference room (SCR1562), first floor of State Line office
Wednesday, January 14th
11:45 - 12:45.

Feel free to bring your lunch, along with the following:

-patterns or examples of dual-purpose blankets (keeping in mind they must be easy to assemble, durable and portable)
-your agenda/planner so we can nail down some sewing dates
-any additional sources for batting/thread/material donation

A few people mentioned they had contacts in area schools. Please call the teachers that may be interested before our meeting. Be ready to give us a report on how many blankets they estimate they could contribute, whether we would need to supervise an activity outside of classtime, and what documentation we need to provide for tracking student volunteer hours.

See you there!

The Outdoor Urban Oasis

2008-12-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our first conceptual meeting for our April/May project: Save the Planet BY Nurturing the Children! Based on a site visit conducted by Frank and Stephen on 12/12/08, this meeting was an opportunity to narrow our scope and brainstorm initial action items.

Overarching Goals:
1: Integrate Salvaged Materials from the Vernacular Urban Landscape
2: Engage all 5 senses: see, feel, smell, hear, taste
3: Urban Oasis: break the winds, mute the sounds
4: Water Neutral: no irrigation, no runoff
5: Safety for Kids: physical/natural barriers
6: Sustainability is Maintenance-Free (no mowing!)

Project Workflow:
1: Site Hydrology, infiltration, runoff calculations
2: Rain Garden Design, storm management
3: Soil restoration, erosion prevention, aeration
4: Plants!
5: Fencing and Aesthetics

Warming the Homeless in Style!

2008-12-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

After meeting this week, some of us are working on getting together February's activity: Warming the Homeless. We are planning to make blanket rolls to hand out at local shelters.

Several fabric reps have donated samples of discontinued patterns, and more are coming in every day. The plan is to assemble a small army of volunteer seamstresses to piece them together into patchwork quilts that can be folded and tied into portable bedrolls. I am working on getting donations of batting and/or backing from hobby stores, and Melissa McGee is gathering the fabric samples. There are many benefits to using commercial fabrics: they are more durable, stain resistant, some are anti-microbial, and they come in great colors and patterns! One square of each quilt will have an ironed-on directory of local shelters and soup kitchens, and the bus lines they can be found on.

Anyone with a sewing machine, or the desire to learn to use one, is welcome to pitch in! Work party dates to-be-announced!

Facebook

2008-11-20T06:15:00.001-08:00

For those of you who would like to join us on facebook the direct link is:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=44638554383

Thanks Greg Stark for getting that going!! :)

Team Planning EXPO

2008-11-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight a few of us attended the Team Planning EXPO. There, we got to enjoy some good cookies, pita bread and hummus.
We also got a chance to hear some great stories and meet some great people. There were various non-profit organizations who shared with us the different ideas that they had in mind and needed help putting into place. Some of the organizations who were there include: Bridging The Gap, Harvesters, Operation Breakthrough and Habitat for Humanity. If there are more that I should add please let me know!.
We got some good ideas from everybody and our new goal is to decide on events in our next meeting which should take place sometime in the first week of December. So keep thinking of different things that we can do! Feel free to put comments on this post with ideas!

2nd Meeting

2008-11-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

The second meeting took place on Nov. 12th @ noon in Stateline Bld SCR3563. During the meeting we got to meet with Beverly McAuley. Beverly came up with the idea of Project Change and we were able to ask her questions. At the moment i don't have the minutes of the meeting, but i will post them as soon as i get them!

1st Meeting

2008-11-18T07:39:00.001-08:00

Our first meeting was on October 31st over the lunch hour. There were only 5 or 6 of us there but we got to talk and learn more about Project Change and also come up with ideas and a list of relevant contacts. Here are the things we learned and came up with.

BURNS & MCDONNELL PROJECT CHANGE
Team Meeting #1: October 31, 2008

Overview of Project Change

Founded by local interior designer to engage the engineering, architecture, and design professionals in KC community needs.

Exciting approach to social/community challenges: design-based, creative thinking, peer mobilization, collaboration, and teamwork.

Multidisciplinary Solutions to everyday problems. Diverse volunteer opportunities: overall planning, marketing/recruitment, project research/reconnaissance, on-site project management, networking with social agencies, short-term volunteers.

Need to fill each of those responsibilities to be successful.

Brainstorming Project Ideas (new ideas are always welcome… this list is only a first attempt)

1. February *Warm the Homeless*

Blanket Collection

Coat Drive

HVAC Study for local homeless shelter

Needs assessment for KC homeless

Bus Shelter Accommodations for cold winter months

Personal hygiene kit

Warm food/beverage distribution

2. March *Feed the Hungry*

Cost Savings assessment for local soup kitchen or food pantry

Food Drive

Food Storage ideas for the homeless

Can Opening and Food preparation kits for homeless

Food heating devices for the homeless

3. April *Save the Planet*

Find optimal KC locations for renewable energy

Research distributed generation potential in KC

Combined sewer health risk advocacy/prevention

KC Environmental needs assessment

Alternatives to landfill… it’s filling up

Volunteer with Bridging the Gap

Set 5 easy steps for employee owners to be more env. Conscious

Explore potential for urban greenway and green corridors in KC

Redesign a greener home model for Habitat for Humanity

4. May *Nurture the Children*

Educational Workshops: environmental/civic responsibility

Appeal of scientific careers to KC youth

Study/Facilitate adoption and foster care programs

Partner with local museum/park for youth event

Volunteer in Teach for America classrooms in KC Metro area

Relevant Kansas City Networking Contacts (please recommend others)

Burns & McDonnell Engineerium

Big Brothers / Big Sisters

Rehab Institute

Westside Community Action Network

Foster Care

Engineers Without Borders: KC Professional Chapter

Holy Family House (Homeless Outreach)

Habitat for Humanity

Teach for America: KC Corps

What's next??

Meetings:

11/12 @ noon, Stateline Bld SCR3563 - We will get a chance to meet with Beverly McAuley, ask her questions and hopefully narrow down some information and ideas.

1st week of December, we will be meeting during a lunch our to talk more about the different topics and decide on one event for each month.

Events:

Team Planning EXPO 11/18 @ 5:00 PM in the Plaza - At this event we will meet different non-profit organizations. They might have have in mind ideas that will help them specifically.

January 22nd - Kick-Off Event Luncheon @ Noon in Gary Hart and Associates (1824 Walnut, Kansas City, MO). The luncheon will be for teams to receive rules, details and materials for the Challenge.

Introduction...

2008-11-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

While thinking of the best way to start this blog, I figured it would be best to start it out with a question and answer session, so here we go!

Who are we?

We are a group of engineers, and scientists who work at Burns & McDonnell and wanted to help in making a difference in Kansas City.

What is Project Change?

As stated at the Project Change website.

The Mission Statement is...

"Project Change is committed to raising public awareness of charitable, service and environmental needs within our community. Demonstrating innovative and creative solutions for change, we simplify the act of giving. We aim to give a voice to those unheard and strive to bring hope and relief to those that go without."

What exactly will Project Change be doing?

Project Change is made out of 15 teams who will have four challenges to complete in four months.
Beginning in February the teams will be given a different monthly challenge. Each month's challenge will charge teams to create a community service project to meet a humanitarian or environmental need within the KC metro area.

Teams will have the freedom to choose the cause they wish to champion and the ability to work hand in hand with its charitable partners to plan and carry out their project.

Challenge One - February 2009: Warm the Homeless
Challenge Two - March 2009: Feed the Hungry
Challenge Three - April 2009: Save the Planet
Challenge Four - May 2009: Nurture the Children

What's this blog going to be used for?

We are hoping this blog helps us raise awareness of the project and of the different thing we will be dealing with from Feb. to May '09. And maybe it'll get more people involved and wanting to make a difference.