… to you and yours this holiday season.
A SEASON OF GIVING… ALL YEAR LONG
It’s giving that makes the Holiday Season special – especially when we give without thought of reward to those who need our help. When we give, we feel happy, and when we feel happy, we’re better at making those around us feel happy too. Because of their generous giving, many members of Team Wright know that happy feeling not just during the Holidays, but all year long. For example, the majority of our team members contribute $5 each paycheck to 5 for the Fight cancer cure research through automatic payroll deduction. But it’s not just their giving of money – many of our team members also regularly give of their time and talents in a variety of meaningful ways, and we’re proud to highlight four of them.
Tom Allen, principal engineer with our Irvine office, volunteers many of his evenings and weekends to coach youth basketball and baseball in Riverside, California. He also recently coached a weekend pitching clinic for over 50 kids ages 8 to 14. “I love being able to make a difference in these kid’s lives,” said Tom. “Seeing their self confidence and self esteem grow as they get positive feedback and encouragement is unbelievably rewarding.”
Hospital patients in the Phoenix area heal faster thanks to Brian von Allworden, structural engineer with our Phoenix office. “There’s something about the unconditional love of an animal that is really therapeutic for people,” said Brian, who visits local hospitals at least once a week on his own time with his trained therapy dog, Noob. “As Noob interacts with the patients, it really brings them comfort and helps them to heal.” Brian began this unique volunteer service 2 years ago because he was in the hospital and realized how important dogs are to patients.
Joelle Franco, BIM technician with our Las Vegas office, and her family volunteer as foster parents for the Animal Foundation. “It all began when we agreed to foster Europe, a senior dog, for the holidays. Then we fostered Winston the pug for a few weeks, followed by three kittens for another month,” said Joelle. “Why do we do it? These animals benefit from being out of the shelter environment and socializing with the volunteers. Fostering these animals help make them the best ‘furr-ever’ pet for their potential adopter.”
In January 2017, Hannah Farr, administrative assistant with our Salt Lake City office, founded West Side Theatre Company, a non-profit with a focus on bringing excellence in the arts to her community and providing artistic opportunities and exposure for residents. “Theater helps to bring people together and break down barriers in a way that no other artform can,” says Hannah, who serves as artistic director and helps organize and produce 3 to 5 productions each year. The Company is currently working with the city of Eagle Mountain, Utah on a site for their own facility which they hope to construct later this year.
When we give, we’re happier, and the greatest gift we can give is our time. Perhaps that’s why the sentiment expressed by Booker T. Washington rings so true: “Those who are the happiest are those who do the most for others.”
ALL STORAGE INSPIRADA
This self-storage facility located in Henderson, Nevada includes over 150,000 square feet of storage plus an adjoining 2-story office/apartment building. Richardson Wetzel Architects is the project architect. Wright Engineers provided structural engineering for the office/apartment and the 10 foot tall perimeter walls.