Volunteer effort supports non-profit’s efforts to build townhomes in National City
Five employees from LPA’s Irvine and San Diego studios recently grabbed nail guns and paintbrushes to help Habitat for Humanity San Diego’s Veterans Build program construct six new homes in National City.
The volunteer initiative was made possible by a grant from the LPA Foundation, which was founded in 2015 to champion causes that are important to our communities, employees and clients.
San Diego County has one of the highest concentrations of veterans in the country. The San Diego branch of Habitat for Humanity hosted several events that culminated in the Veterans Build week-long effort. These included repairing veterans’ homes, volunteering for shifts at Habitat’s ReStore locations, fundraising and participating in new construction. LPA employees took part in the new construction efforts in National City.
The LPA team helped with interior paint prep, installing exterior siding and exterior painting. When LPA team members volunteered at the same build site in May, volunteers focused on installing the drywall in the garages.
“Hands-on participation is not only a response to the community need but another way to experience the construction side of our industry,” said Ellie O’Connor, architect at LPA Design Studios. “It helps us as designers make the connection between our paper (or digital) drawings to a built reality in a way that betters our community. It is heartwarming to see the construction progress between multiple volunteer events spanning several months, and I am humbled to be involved in this kind of work.”
Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries.
