April 28, 2014
The three women homeowners all lived in Mid-Govans, a northeast Baltimore, Maryland, community that is on the historical Baltimore-to-Pennsylvania York Road. Beyond having that in common, they shared a love of their homes, and a need for some help: home repairs that would make their houses safer and more livable, and a little bit more “like home.”
Last Saturday, I joined about 30 Booz Allen-associated volunteers to repair the three homes as part of a nationwide effort by Rebuilding Together, a program in which our firm sponsored 45 houses in 29 cities across the country. In Baltimore, this was the 25th year Rebuilding Together has organized these events. But the weekend was even bigger for Booz Allen: we sponsored five different volunteer efforts nationwide in one weekend as we celebrate our 100th anniversary year, reflecting a commitment to our communities makes me proud of our firm and proud of my coworkers.
Saturday morning, our employees gathered in our red t-shirts along Benninghaus Road, a street of neat rowhouses, and split into teams for each of the three houses. Each team met their homeowner, which was one of the most powerful moments of the day; the work meant so much to these women, and it’s incredibly rewarding to make a difference in the life of someone whom you get to meet and spend time with.
The work we performed was the kind of “weekend warrior” tasks that many homeowners are accustomed to, but can be challenging if too many needs stack up at once. We did a lot of caulking, patched drywall, painted, repaired a bathroom, replaced kitchen cabinets and other tasks that will really make a difference.
It was a lot of work in one day, and the most wonderful reward was the smiles on the faces of each of these women; that’s the memory that will stick with me for a long time to come. And I’m sure that was the cases at the dozens of other homes where hundreds of Booz Allen volunteers served that day. I wanted to particularly thank our house captains, Chip Lutz, Kristina Bowser, Mike McAlister, Steve Staves, Dave Evans and Wendy Orr.
Beyond Rebuilding Together, our firm and employees last weekend supported events that benefitted and honored veterans, and young people interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. The events were:
- Face of America (bike) Ride, honoring veterans, April 25-27 (Washington, D.C. to Gettysburg)
- FIRST® Championship, April 23-26 (St. Louis; 8 Booz Allen-sponsored and employee mentored teams are finalists, hailing from Herndon, VA; Lexington Park, MD; Newport News, VA; San Diego, CA; Dayton, OH – two teams; San Antonio, TX; and Troy, MI)
- USA Science and Engineering Festival (SIG technology exhibition at Washington, D.C. Convention Center, employee volunteers, 200k+ attendees)
- Five “Honor Flights,” bringing Vets to the WWII Memorial (Washington, D.C. airports)
As our CEO Ralph Shrader has noted, “Giving back and having a positive impact in our communities remains an enduring value at our firm. I believe good business and good citizenship go hand in hand. At Booz Allen our greatest asset is our people. And when our people give of their time and talents, something powerful happens—we inspire others to follow our lead.”
