Project Change – Event Two
Warm the Homeless
Benefiting: Community LINC

Our team’s second challenge was “Warm the Homeless” and we worked with Community LINC to create a project that would “warm the hearts” of the teenagers living there. Twice a week, while the parents spend their evenings learning about life-skills, such as budgeting, their children are broken up by age groups in different parts of the facility to study, receive tutoring, and hangout with their peers in a supervised environment. The space that was serving the teens is located in a basement and was rendered unusable by a flood. Our team performed an “extreme makeover” and renovated the space so that it could once again be used by the teens. Awaken KC team members met with the teens to hold a design charette and learn what they would like to see in their space. Donations of materials and services came from team members and beyond to provide new furnishings, flooring, paint, cabinetry and décor. In addition to donations of professional labor for skilled work like carpentry and pouring/finishing a new concrete floor, our team held team-wide work days on March 14th, 21st and 28th that involved demo, painting, and installing new cabinetry, furnishings, and décor to renovate this space a great new hang out for a deserving group of teens.

Our team held an “unveiling” party after the project was complete for the teens to see their new space for the first time. The project was featured on NBC’s 10 pm news. A professional photographer also attended the event and took pictures of the teens that will be framed and hung in the space.

The project involved over 350 unskilled man hours and over $20,000 in materials donations and skilled labor to create a space that will serve Community LINC for many years to come. Our team also donated 2 carloads filled with clothing for the families at Community LINC. Click here for more photos on our blog!