Supporting our communities goes beyond financial contributions. As construction professionals, our unique skills position us to make a big impact. Lending our knowledge, time and talents as builders opens up new potential for the way our nonprofit partners serve our communities.
Since 1999, the Sundt Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas where we live and work, embodying Sundt’s core value of service. “The Foundation’s efforts are driven by our passionate employee-owners who want to give back to their communities,” said Sundt Community Relations Manager and Executive Director of the Sundt Foundation Emily Dwosh. “Often, these efforts include giving our time and construction knowledge to improve local nonprofits’ facilities.”
Over the last year, Sundt employee-owners, E&K of Phoenix, as well as other contractors and volunteers across the Valley joined forces to renovate The Foster Alliance‘s (formerly Arizona Helping Hands) space in Phoenix. These improvements expand the nonprofit’s capabilities and help them reach more foster youth in Arizona.
It Started with a Wall
The Foster Alliance is the largest provider of essential needs to the 14,000+ children in foster care in Arizona. In 2023 alone, the organization served over 8,000 children, distributed over 2,500 beds, and made over 3,000 birthday wishes come true. “Fostering can be a turbulent experience, and we want our facilities to be a source of comfort, a safe space for families to have access to their essential needs,” said Bethany Eggleston, vice president of development and marketing for The Foster Alliance.
Over the years, Sundt has partnered with The Foster Alliance through diaper and toy drives and volunteer events at the nonprofit’s location in Phoenix. The organization has also been the recipient of several grants from the Sundt Foundation. “I was giving a tour of our space to a group of Sundt employees after our grant check presentation, and I happened to mention that we had a new vision for our facilities. At that point, it only involved moving a single wall,” said Bethany.
Maureen Noe, President and CEO of The Foster Alliance wanted to create a comfortable shopping experience for foster families who rely on their services. The organization had plans for this vision from Corgan, a Phoenix-based architect, but needed a contractor to bring the vision to life. “On Bethany’s tour, the Sundt team was inspired to make this new vision a reality with as little cost to the organization as possible,” said Scott LaPoint, training and development manager and Phoenix Sundt Foundation board director at large.
“One of our Building Group project teams became highly involved, and we immediately turned to our construction partners to see if they could lend a hand,” said Jon Schwab, Preconstruction Project Manager for Sundt’s Building Group. “E&K of Phoenix, one of our trusted subcontractors, jumped in right away, volunteering to spearhead the project.”
Gary Youngkin, Senior Field Operations Manager of E&K of Phoenix, and his team immediately got to work acquiring the contract and permits for the job. After consulting with their suppliers, E&K and their partners were able to donate all materials and labor for the project. “This has been a fantastic experience. When contractors come together to collaborate with nonprofit partners, we can make a much bigger impact rather than just acting alone. The Foster Alliance’s values align with ours, and we view this as a long-term partnership.”
Phase one of the work involved building a new retail center, moving two walls and creating a new birthday room—a place to store custom birthday gifts and bikes for foster children. “It was all hands on deck,” continued Scott. “Folks from many contractors and companies across Phoenix, including Motorola, came out over several weeks to complete the new retail center.”
“The retail center provides appropriate and respectful services to people who really deserve it,” said Bethany. It offers a comfortable “shopping” experience, where foster families can get their daily essentials, such as clothes, shoes, diapers, toiletries and more for the children in their care.
Soon, phase two of the work will begin, which will be led by E&K of Phoenix. It will include a brand new volunteer center and office space for staff. With a dedicated volunteer center, The Foster Alliance will be able to take in larger groups of volunteers and complete bigger projects, encouraging connections with community volunteers and corporate partners.
While Sundt and its trade partners were working on the new space, another issue was brought to light. For months, the pipes at The Foster Alliance had been causing the facility issues. “Sundt’s Transportation Group spent two days fixing a sewer problem that had been a long-term source of stress for the organization,” said Jon. Because this plumbing job was done in-kind, it allowed the organization to instead provide an estimated 70 foster children with new beds.
“Like-Hearted”
There was no shortage of volunteers on this project, which is a testament to the strength of the construction community. When we all bring our expertise to the table, we can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. “I like to say we build relationships with ‘like-hearted’ contractors,” said Scott.
“We value our relationship with Sundt and The Foster Alliance,” said Gary. “We view this as a long-term partnership and will continue to work together to make a difference in our communities.” Because of the work accomplished through in-kind donations, volunteers and at-cost construction work, The Foster Alliance was able to dedicate more funds directly back to foster youth.
“We’ve grown our organization significantly in the last year, and we were only able to do that because generous contractors gave their time, skills and expertise. It just took a couple of magical humans to get this effort started. To have a group of contractors take us under their wing is invaluable.” -Bethany Eggleston, Vice President of Development and Marketing, The Foster Alliance
The Foster Alliance offers several avenues for community and corporate engagement, including opportunities that can be completed from the office. To see how you can help, please visit their website.
Special thank you to all the “magical humans” who made this dream a reality: E&K of Phoenix, Motorola, Western States Fire, ISEC, PCL Construction, FKF Corporation (Floorworks), Dickens Quality Demo, Rite-Way Thermal, Global Roofing, RK Mechanical, Dunn-Edwards Paint, and FBM Drywall.