AEC Cares is about linking architecture and construction professionals to the communities where we live and work. Every year, on the day before the AIA National Convention, we bring together Reed Construction Data, the AIA and Hanley Wood, leading manufacturers, generous sponsors and volunteers from across the U.S. for a project that helps the host community.

AEC Cares started in 2011 with projectNOLA, where we helped rebuild five houses that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, we worked with Sasha Bruce Youthwork and restored a dilapidated, abandoned building in Washington, D.C., that is now home for underprivileged young people working hard to stay in school and gain skills for their futures.

In 2013, projectDenver is making life a little easier for those who turn to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless for help. We are working to restore and renovate Beacon Place – a Coalition facility that opens its doors to homeless, disabled veterans and adults challenged by serious mental and physical health issues.

Estimates report as many as 67,495 veterans are homeless on a given night and as many as 144,842 spend at least one night in a shelter or transitional housing program. The Coalition provides housing, meals and healthcare and offers permanent, supportive and transitional housing to approximately 700 disabled veterans annually. This year, our work will support their efforts.

Together, we can accomplish something amazing. Combining the best of the industry, the best products, the best architects, engineers and GCs and the best volunteers, we can make a difference one community at a time.

"More than 100 volunteers bearing hammers and orange hard hats decended on the house to transform it into a home for the district's homeless youths."

"Many of the volunteers are in Washington for the American Institute of Architects conference. They stream in and out carrying lumber and tools, much of it donated for the cause."