With the completion of SunTrust Park, college-bound students will receive scholarships—a gift from American Builders 2017 to Kids’ Chance of Georgia, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the educational goals of children whose lives have been impacted by a parent’s workplace injury or death.

Shortly after construction began on the new Atlanta Braves ballpark in 2014, AB2017 adopted Kids’ Chance as its preferred charity and committed to raise scholarship funds for students. A joint venture, AB2017 includes Brasfield & Gorrie, Mortenson Construction, Barton Malow Company and New South Construction. Several subcontractors and vendors also participated in the charitable initiative. The firms raised more than $50,000 for Kids’ Chance.

“This was the first time our four companies came together to build a project and, early on, we decided to support a charitable effort,” said AB2017 Safety Director Lisa Capicik, who also oversaw all aspects of safety on the SunTrust Park project. “While certainly a good cause, our support of Kids’ Chance allowed us to highlight the importance of safety by making it personal,” Capicik said.
 
Over the course of building the new home for the baseball team, AB2017 held fundraising events and sold t-shirts to employees, subcontractors and vendors to benefit the nonprofit organization. The joint venture partners also held individual fundraising events and made financial donations to support Kids’ Chance.

“We are extremely grateful for the support of American Builders 2017,” said Lynda Smith, Co-Executive Director of Kids’ Chance of Georgia. “The generosity of this joint venture team and their employees, subcontractors and vendors will reverberate for years into the future.”

Kids’ Chance of America was founded in 1988 to provide educational opportunities and scholarships for the children of workers who were seriously or fatally injured at work. Currently, 38 states throughout the U.S. have Kids’ Chance chapters.

Capicik expects support for Kids’ Chance will grow. “In time, we hope our entire industry will embrace Kids’ Chance. It is just that important,” said Capicik.

In keeping with its tradition of supporting local civic, charitable and social organizations, Brasfield & Gorrie will continue its partnership with Kids’ Chance. As part of the company’s recent participation in the construction industry’s annual Safety Week observance, held May 1–5, 2017, Brasfield & Gorrie raised funds for the nonprofit. In advance of the week, the company offered special edition Safety Week t-shirts, with proceeds going to benefit Kids’ Chance. During Safety Week, Brasfield & Gorrie held a variety of fundraising events at offices and jobsites to benefit the organization.

“With safety as our company’s top value, the decision to support Kids’ Chance was easy,” said Brasfield & Gorrie Vice President and Corporate Safety Director Troy Ogden. “Helping kids whose lives have been impacted due to a workplace injury or death of a parent is simply the right thing to do.”