McDonald's Corporate Volunteers Fill Association House with Color
Every year, our friends at the McDonald's Corporation come to Association House on a mission: to dedicate their day to improving the lives of our participants through hands-on service projects! This year was dedicated to beautifying our public spaces to be as welcoming and colorful as our community deserves, and our volunteers did not disappoint.
We're incredibly grateful to everyone who rolled up their sleeves and gave their time to make our spaces brighter, more welcoming, and more reflective of the community we serve.
Association House first moved to its building on Kedzie in 1997 to accomodate its rapidly growing programs: more and more people in Chicago needed our help and we needed a large enough space to welcome them all. The building had originally been a hospital and psychiatric facility, so we had our work cut out for us transforming the space to reflect the quality and dignity of the programs we offer.
With our volunteers' help, our building is more colorful and friendly than ever, a reflection of the diverse community celebrating wins every day within our walls.
Our main elevator lobby now sports a fresh coat of maroon paint, and a hand-drawn mural that represents all the life-changing services offered at the House, from child welfare, to alternative high school, to affordable housing. New greenery and leather seating also livened up the space.
At our Borinquen Bella affordable housing property, another group of volunteers installed a kids' play area for our tenants, plus applied fresh paint to entrances, exits, and hallways for a clean and refreshed look.
Elsewhere at the House, our Holt Hall community gathering space got a facelift: a lush purple accent wall, an Association House history display, new pop-up banners to show off our services, and plants for our presentation area. Holt Hall hosts many of our graduation ceremonies, community events, and partner presentations: now, it's a bright and dynamic space no matter the occasion.
At Association House High School, our volunteers decorated an unused space for one-on-one student counseling, providing a private and familiar space for our students to develop their post-graduation plans, navigate conflict, or receive counseling.
Plus, volunteers got the chance to spend quality time with our participants, learning about the services we provide and leading fun activities to give them a special day at the House. We're especially thankful that their day of service wasn't just about improving our spaces—it was also an opportunity to connect directly with the people who call Association House home.
One of our groups baked pineapple upside-down cakes together with our Psychosocial Rehabilitation participants, then delivered them to our hard-working renovation crews around the building as a sweet treat for their hard work.
We are so grateful to have the support of such a dedicated and compassionate group of people! The impact our volunteers made in a single day will last for years. We can't wait to welcome them back again! As we put the finishing touches on all the new work around the building, we're so excited for our community to check out our bold and colorful new look.
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