Barrett NYC Selected as Finalist for NAPA Community Involvement Award:
Barrett NYC’s robust and diverse community involvement program has landed them as one of the finalists for NAPA’s community involvement award. This award recognizes companies with outstanding programs in the arena of community relations. In the year 2024, Barrett NYC had over half of their 145 employees participate in a variety of programs aimed at community outreach. The following 5 programs were highlighted in the award application.
·Herkimer BOCES Mentorship Program
·Career Days and Site Tours
·Make A Wish- Joey’s Game and Horse-Riding Ring
·Phoenix Open House
·Litchfield Community Garden
Herkimer BOCES Mentorship program- This ongoing partnership between our Litchfield facility and Herkimer BOCES allows 2-3 students each year to learn about our operations and health and safety culture. The program runs for three weeks at the end of the school year, and a large percentage of our current employees started in the mentorship program.
Career Days and Site Tours- Throughout the year, our sales, construction, and HR teams attend local school career days and construction days to speak with students about the construction industry and opportunities at BPMI. We have coordinated with some schools to provide students with a firsthand look at our operations.
Make-A-Wish- Last year, we helped grant the wish of a young man with cancer for a basketball court at his home. This year, he hosted a fundraiser in the form of a basketball game to raise money for other children’s wishes. We formed a team known as The Wish Makers to compete against him. The fundraiser raised over $6,000, allowing a young girl to have her wish of a horse-riding ring fulfilled. We partnered with Make-A-Wish again to support this project, donating employee time and expertise to complete the riding ring.
Phoenix Open House- Every year, we host an open house at one of our sites to help the public understand our operations. This year, our Phoenix facility hosted the event, with over 33 employees volunteering their time. The open house featured a “human fruit spin” game that raised money for the local charity "Sleep in Heavenly Peace," which provides beds to those in need, as well as an excavator basketball game.
Litchfield Community Garden- In an effort to provide fresh, local produce to our employees and the surrounding community, we established a community garden in 2024. This garden features a variety of produce and native flowers to support local pollinators.
In addition to all of these efforts, NYC hosted roadside cleanups at all five of our sites this year, where 52 employees came together to reduce trash in our community. We also partnered with NYN and UMI to run a shoe drive that collected over 800 pairs of shoes, which were either donated or recycled depending on their condition. We look forward to continuing these initiatives in the coming years and developing a strong community around our operations.