Community Service (2001)

2001-02 Corporate Charity: The Baltimore Ronald McDonald House

KCI Supports Ronald McDonald House—KCI selected the Baltimore Ronald McDonald House (BRMH) as its corporate charity for 2001-2002 and has already raised more than $10,000 in cash and contributions.  Lead by a committee of more than 15 Hunt Valley employees and championed by Senior Vice President and Civil Group Manager, Harvey Floyd, employees have supported the efforts of BRMH through individual donations, bake sales, wish list and tin can collections, 50/50 raffles, a charity auction, and raffles and a money wheel at KCI’s annual crab feast.  On September 29, the committee hosted a flea market and craft show at the company’s headquarters, with the event’s proceeds going toward BRMH.

Service Abroad—In February 2001, Dwight Walters, PE, (Newark, DE, Office manager) completed an eight-day missionary trip to Palos Blancos, Bolivia, where he and other volunteers built a church and bible school for the people of the Alto Beni region.  The trip was sponsored by Pathfinders, a team from the Royal Rangers boys’ club that visits remote areas where other mission teams typically would not go because of poor access and lack of accommodations, such as running water and lodging.  The Pathfinders brought tents, food, and building supplies to construct the 40-by-80-foot, two-story church and 16-by-24-foot, one-story bible school.  In 1999, Dwight also served on a team that built a church in Chile.

Dwight has been with the Royal Rangers for 27 years and volunteers as the local outpost leader of the Royal Rangers at Praise Assembly of God in Newark, DE, where more than 50 boys attend weekly meetings and participate in weekend camping events.  He also serves as the organization’s Regional Training Coordinator, helping train leaders from Maine to southern Virginia.

Young Engineers Bridge the Gap with Middle School Students—On December 3rd, KCI Structural Engineers-In-Training Mandy Cody and Bob Heyman addressed more than 100 eighth graders at Perry Hall Middle School in Baltimore County, MD, as part of a new outreach program being launched by the Younger Member Group of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Maryland Section.  The presentation, covering careers in engineering and the basics of bridge design, prepared students for an upcoming class project where they will construct bridges using plastic drinking straws.  KCI’s young engineers will visit another group of students in Perry Hall’s Technical Education program in February 2002 and plan to extend their outreach to other area middle and high schools next year.

KCI Employees Construct Homes, Build Hope—This Fall, KCI’s Jennifer Albanese, Scott Camacho, Jim Fennell, Mike Murphy, Brian Schmidt, Kristy Sunday, and Lisa Woodjoined with nearly 500 other volunteers in Tampa, FL, to help with Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County’s Fall Blitz Build 2001.  In two short weeks (October 12-28), the volunteers built two homes from start to finish.   Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide organization that builds simple, decent housing for low-income families.  Habitat homes are built by volunteers and funded with donations from the community, then sold at cost to families through a no-interest mortgage with low, affordable payments.  The families work side by side with volunteers during construction.  To find out how you can get involved in Habitat programs in your own community, click here.

Bay Grass Planting—On June 9, KCI’s Mark Richmond, Aaron Hottenstein, and Jennifer Pizarro joined close to two dozen other Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) volunteers at Rocky Point Park in Baltimore County, MD, to plant bay grasses.  Assisted by Nate Drescher and Andrea Poling, Mark grew the submerged aquatic vegetation in his office for three months and supplied a total of 183 plants (with the longest leaf measuring nearly three feet long) to the effort.  This was KCI’s fourth year of participation in the statewide program, sponsored by the CBF.

Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor—On June 9, KCI’s Cultural Resources Director Rick Geidel led three Boy Scouts of America Troops in an archaeological investigation to locate the grave sites of the founder of West Fairview, PA, and his wife.  The mission, requested by the founder’s 4th and 5th great grandsons and sponsored by KCI in cooperation with the East Pennsboro Township and the Historical Society of East Pennsboro Township, was part of the Boy Scouts’ Merit Badge Program.   As a volunteer Merit Badge Counselor, Rick guided 42 boys as they earned their badges in Archaeology.

Harrisburg Bowls for Kids’ Sake—On May 6th, Andres Forero, Debbie Henson, Tim Jones, Ken Reiner, and Greg Shuler of KCI’s Harrisburg Office competed in a charity bowling event to benefit the Capital Region of Big Brothers-Big Sisters.  As part of “Bowl For Kids’ Sake”, the team raised $660 that will help fund adult outreach to children in the community.

Reach Out and Run 5K—On April 22nd, KCI’s Katie Daniecki and Shanna Pitarra raced in the “Reach Out and Run” 5K in Towson, MD.  The two placed second and third in their category (Females Ages 20-29) and fourth and fifth overall for females.  Proceeds from the race were donated to a cancer research fund.

Maglev Challenge 2001—On March 31, KCI’s Amy Cole, Chris Heyn, and Jackie Schrenker-Case served as judges in the 2001 Maglev Challenge.  Several teams from area middle schools participated in the annual event held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. 

KCI Professionals Visit Woodlawn High—On March 22nd, KCI’s Kris Bradner, Tobi Kester, Eric Klein, Frank Lucas, Allen Paugh, and Ken Saundersjoined ten other professionals from five area firms at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County to give students an insight into career paths in engineering, environmental science, surveying, and landscape architecture.  During the two-hour session, more than 55 students in grades 9-11 rotated among 11 learning stations.  KCI’s representatives provided thoughtful and engaging demonstrations on their respective disciplines and clearly sparked interest in many of the children.  The visit is part of an ongoing initiative sponsored by the Consulting Engineers Council of Maryland.

 

KCI Engineer Judges County Science Fair—Don Graber, PE, Chief Structural Engineer of KCI’s Manassas Office, served as a Category Judge (Engineering) for the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair held on March 17, 2001, in Fairfax, VA.  More than 400 judges evaluated 450 projects in 13 categories, submitted by nearly 600 students from 26 area high schools.  Don commented, “The competition is a great way to reach out to youngsters in the community and to encourage students to pursue a college major in engineering.”  This is Don’s ninth year as a contest judge.

KCI Harrisburg Dresses Down for Leukemia—On March 16th, 58 employees in KCI’s Harrisburg, PA, office earned the privilege of wearing casual attire for the day by making a donation to the .  The office raised $268 toward finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkins Disease, and myeloma as part of “Dress Down for Leukemia Day.” Stacey Hostetler coordinated the collection, which also earned staff a pizza party sponsored by the Society. 

Special Olympics Ski Coach—KCI’s Douglas A. Lawrence (pictured below in yellow parka) helped athletes from Carroll County train for Special Olympics Maryland’s 2001 Winter Games.  Doug has volunteered with for 21 years and has coached in the winter games for the past 10.  This year, he helped 12 athletes compete in alpine skiing events at the 2001 Games held February 25th-27th at Wisp Ski Resort.

KCI Opens Doors, Draws Career Paths for Woodlawn, Southern, and Dunbar 11th Graders—On Wednesday, January 17, 2001, KCI’s Hunt Valley headquarters opened its doors to 17 students from three Baltimore high schools seeking careers in engineering, science, and technology.

KCI’s Ken Saunders, Scott Riddle, Tobi Kester, and Brian Bernstein provided the youngsters with hands-on demonstrations in highway design, drafting technologies, land planning, landscape architecture, and stream classification. The day-long event was part of a two-year curriculum, sponsored by the Building STEPS (Science and Technology Education Partnership) program. Building STEPS encourages area firms to provide inner-city students with an inside look at business opportunities.

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