The Highlands Park Child Development Center got some upgrades on Thursday, as volunteers from the real estate company Keller Williams spent the day remodeling and expanding the Ben Lomond preschool’s facilities.
According to Bill Babcock, the associates with the company’s Santa Cruz office chose to “give where they live” as part of Red Day — the company’s annual day of service.
“The whole office comes, everyone balances their time,” Babcock said. “We give and renew and donate our time to a community project.”
This year, he said, the staff opted to work to support Community Bridges’ preschool in recognition of the work that the organization does to help people throughout Santa Cruz County.
“They do such a good job in the community,” Babcock said.
The Red Day event, now in its sixth year, advertised several months ago that the Keller Williams staff was looking for a project, Babcock said. Community Bridges stood out.
“We looked at seven or eight projects before we narrowed it down to this one,” he said. “We looked at what they needed and we said ‘Yeah, lets do this.’”
Beginning before 9 a.m. on May 8, Keller Williams’ 75 staffers arrived throughout the day at the preschool to spend the day painting, fixing fences, building a garden, installing new carpeting, and renovating the kitchen.
“It was an all-day event, it was incredible,” said Maia Mosher-D’Andrea, director of the Community Bridges Children’s Center. “We ended up getting a ton of new stuff and it was amazing.”
Mosher-D’Andrea said that the Keller Williams staff had not only donated their time, but had also contacted clients in search of items or materials to donate.
As a result, she said, the center now has a new microwave, a new fridge, a new dishwasher, new paint, and new sand and woodchips in the play area.
“A coat of paint is just a coat of paint,” Mosher-D’Andrea said. “But, for us, it changed the whole feel of the center.”
She said that the community support that the center has gotten since opening has been key — particularly as it works to gain recognition and create an identity within the community it serves.
“We got a lot of people who really care about this place and it means a lot,” Mosher-D’Andrea said. “Having them come in and do a ton of cleaning and organizing really solidifies that change — it’s a world of difference.”
For more information about Keller Williams’ Red Day, visit http://www.kw.com/kw/redday.html#.U2sOf1eN7mU
For more information about the Highlands Park Child Development Center, call 336-2857 or visit http://www.communitybridges.org
