Every year, Spectorgroup takes pride in giving back to the community through its annual volunteering initiative. This year we teamed up with the City Park Foundation for its signature volunteer program, It’s My Park to help beautify Coffey Park, a hidden gem nestled in the heart of Brooklyn. This collaborative effort was a testament to our commitment to improving the city we all call home.
The City Park Foundation supports a network of leaders who care and advocate for neighborhood parks and green spaces. Through their volunteer program, New Yorkers care for and celebrate local green spaces with hands-on service projects.
The Spectorgroup team in action.
Armed with scrappers, paintbrushes, and rollers - our team along with members of the City Park Foundation were eager to get started. The goal? To prepare and paint Coffey Park’s perimeter fencing. This shared goal of improving the park's aesthetics created an atmosphere of enthusiasm and unity.
Our event organizer, Nastasia shared a few words as to the reason behind this specific event,
“When organizing our 2023 volunteer initiative, I wanted to plan something that reflected Spectorgroup’s sustainability initiative. Maintaining and restoring our public spaces is something that I am deeply passionate about, and I was so excited to share that sentiment with my colleagues.”
Community engagement.
Our annual volunteering initiative goes beyond simply lending a helping hand. It's about engaging with the community and building connections. Throughout the day, team members took the time to interact with local residents who thanked them for taking the time out to help update the park in their neighborhood. This sense of community engagement added an extra layer of meaning to the project.
“I had a really great time and wanted to paint more! My heart swells when using my time helping the community.”
- Jun Frez, Senior Project Architect
"Being able to contribute to the maintenance of our city strengthens our sense of community. While we spend much of our time trying to build new things, working together to restore a public park reminds us of the diverse spaces that make New York so great."
- Zachary Harwin, Project Architect
A lasting impact.
As the team worked together outside of the typical office environment, there was a sense of purpose and fulfillment amongst each other, strengthening bonds and enhancing communication. At the end of the day, our team painted just about 150 feet of linear fence which nearly completed the perimeter fence on the Richards Street side of the park.
Beyond the results and camaraderie of our team members, volunteering at Coffey Park not only left a lasting impact on the community but also symbolized the power of collective action and the importance of investing in our public spaces.
Ian, the Corporate Engagement Coordinator for Partnerships for Parks had this to say about our team,
"Thank you to everyone from Spectorgroup for your hard work repainting the fence at Coffey Park. It takes a lot of effort to keep our public parks beautiful, but the end results make that work worthwhile! Hope to see you at another park soon."
