A Year in Review: Community Support + Outreach in 2023
Serving our community is a crucial part of our values and will always be essential to our culture. We’ve worked with and supported organizations and non-profits throughout the DC metro area for more than 50 years because the heart of our mission is to build success for all. This year we continued to provide outreach with our partners, and we worked to further relationships with organizations like the American Heart Association, the Capital Area Food Bank, and more.
American Heart Association
We have been a proud partner of American Heart Association for 12 years, and we took that partnership a step further this year with our participation in the AHA Greater Washington Heart Walk fundraising event in support of the fight against heart disease and stroke. Our team received donations throughout the month of October and raised over $69,000 for AHA! For the fifth year now, our very own Mike Pittsman joined the Executive Leadership Team for the Heart Walk and was Chair of this year’s Executive’s with Heart Campaign for the AHA.
Boys + Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
This year, we donated backpacks, notebooks, and other critical school supplies to the Boys + Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW), and even helped pack up the backpacks as part of the #PackChallenge! These efforts helped BGCGW prepare for fall programs and send kids off with proper supplies prior to the end of summer camp. CEO Jim Davis served as Board Chairman at BGCGW, and DAVIS continues to support their Youth in Real Estate efforts, with Vice President Jim Camlek serving on the Luncheon committee.
Calvary Women’s Services
We continue to support Calvary Women’s Services through financial, pro bono, in-kind and volunteer services with DAVIS’ Kara Mele serving on the Board of Directors. This local organization empowers homeless women in DC to transform their lives and take positive steps toward independence through support services. We also joined the In This Together Community 5k Walk to support Calvary’s housing, education, health, and career programs.
Capital Area Food Bank
We are proud to support the mission of Capital Area Food Bank as they work to create access to good, healthy food in every community. We teamed up with HYL Architects for CANstruction, a nationwide program that aims to raise awareness about hunger through a design-build competition that benefits the Capital Area Food Bank with donations of canned goods.
Children’s Inn at NIH
Every year, the Children’s Inn at NIH helps make the holiday season extra special by providing gifts to children and their families. DAVIS Employees donated gifts to the Gingerbread Gift Shop, which allows children to choose holiday gifts for their parents and siblings, all at no cost. Residents at The Inn have traveled from all over the world to access groundbreaking medical treatment.
DAVIS Annual Charity Golf Tournament
Our tenth annual Charity Golf Tournament took place in September with 132 participants representing over 30 long-time partners and subcontractors. With the help of generous sponsors, we raised $50K this year—the proceeds went to benefit Mason Strong Village and Aspire! Afterschool Learning. Mason Strong Village provides comprehensive support for pediatric oncology patients and Aspire! Afterschool Learning helps underserved students in South Arlington fulfill their potential through high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs.
DCBIA Community Improvement Day
Each year, industry employees come together with the DC Building Industry Association to revive a public gathering place for an underserved neighborhood. In September, a team of DAVIS volunteers participated in DCBIA’s annual Community Improvement Day (CID) by helping design, develop and employ Nature Trail amenities on the campus of Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Southeast DC. THEARC is the home of 14 nonprofits that serve the Ward 8 community.
Friends of Anacostia Park
For our first annual Ridge Kelley Day of Service, DAVIS teamed up with partners from H2 Design Build and Redbrick LMD to help Friends of Anacostia Park with various repairs to Anacostia Park, including picnic table construction, painting, plexiglass replacement, bike rack installation and landscaping. Ridge was a dedicated DAVIS employee who retired in 2019 after 25 years of extraordinary service, before sadly passing away in 2022. He had a genuine passion for giving back to his local community, and DAVIS honors his legacy through this day of service.
Gingertown DC
We joined architects, engineers, and other contractors for Gingertown DC – a one-of-a-kind holiday initiative that brings together the best minds in the area to build a town made of gingerbread and other candy, while supporting great causes that benefit our community. This year, recipients included Children’s National Hospital, Community of Hope, Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, SOME (So Others Might Eat) and Wendt Center for Loss and Healing.
Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland
This spring, DAVIS volunteers came together for Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland (HHMM)’s Women Build event, which brings together women to build affordable homes for hardworking families in our community! Our teams made a huge impact through renovating a duplex in Takoma Park. Women Build also raises funds to support affordable housing in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. Peggy Jones, Principal at DAVIS, is a board member at HHMM and continues to contribute to their mission.
We also partnered with HHMM to hold a Playhouse building competition, with DAVIS employees building nine children’s outdoor playhouses. All nine were completed this past May and have officially been donated to Habitat. The playhouses were based on original designs, from a hospital-inspired house to a makeshift café complete with a table and fireplace, the contest sparked many creative ideas. These construction professionals took playhouse building to the next level, creating complex, appealing, and safe structures!
Jubilee Housing
We were proud to work with our long-time friends at Jubilee Housing again this year. We provided back-to-school supplies through Jubilee’s Back to School Store initiative and volunteered for the Elf Store, providing children of Jubilee Housing the opportunity to buy gifts for their family at a significantly reduced cost. Several of our employees volunteered their time, and as an organization we donated gifts to the store[MB5] . Additionally, in November, DAVIS sponsored Jubilee’s 50th Anniversary Gala—congratulations to Jubilee for reaching this incredible milestone.
Mt Carmel Baptist Church
In partnership with Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, a staple in the community, our jobsite team at 950 3rd St NW helped organize a drive to benefit the surrounding Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood and received donations including canned goods and other groceries!
Rebuilding Together
National Rebuilding Day, created by the organization Rebuilding Together, is an opportunity for community volunteers and partners to provide home repairs at zero-cost to neighbors in need. We teamed up with Rock Spring Contracting, LLC and Neelsville Presbyterian Church to do extensive repairs on a Germantown neighbor's home, including siding + trim replacement, yard work, and more.
Samaritan Inns Fundraising Breakfast
For the tenth year, we teamed up with Clark Construction Group to co-host the Samaritan Inns fundraising breakfast, held at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. In partnership with Clark, we raised over $70,000 for the organization. Samaritan Inns provides services, rehabilitation programs, and shelter for people and their families recovering from addiction and homelessness. Since 2014, the Clark/DAVIS Breakfast has raised more than $500,000 to support Samaritan Inns’ mission!
DAVIS also sponsored the first annual Zero Proof Soiree, which raised $100,000 to provide residential addiction treatment and recovery services to homeless and at-risk men, women, and women with children who suffer from drug and alcohol addiction.
Thanksgiving Outreach
During the week of Thanksgiving, we were honored to participate in several heartwarming charity events to benefit those in need. DAVIS volunteers helped deliver food directly to our neighbors’ doors by partnering with Food + Friends, a local meal delivery service that provides nutrition to those living with serious illnesses. The week continued as we partnered with Poor Robert’s Mission for their annual Turkey Drive—this year, over 7000 turkeys were delivered to more than 100 organizations! We then teamed up with Comstock Companies, we participated in their Thanksgiving Drive during which 238 meals were delivered to Cornerstones, a nonprofit that provides support and advocacy for those without food and shelter in Virginia. Finally, we sponsored the Vernon Davis Foundation’s Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway and helped provide more than 450 free turkeys to the community in Southeast DC.
Toy Drive
Finally, during the holiday season, DAVIS project teams held toy drives at multiple sites! At the future site of the Reston Row Hotel + Condo, we collected toys and donated them to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington as well as Toys for Tots—additionally, at our renovation of the former Mazza Gallerie mall in Friendship Heights, we held a drive to support The Brooks, a temporary home for DC families in need.
