From constructing homes to mentoring children in need of support, our employees are focused on giving back to the communities we serve.
At Brookfield Properties, our purpose is to create places for communities to thrive, and we’re proud of our employees who step up to support their local neighborhoods in unique and impactful ways.
Employees at our Chicago office recently donated more than 200 volunteer hours during Brookfield Cares’ first-ever week of service. Brookfield Cares, our in-house philanthropy initiative, allows employees to make an even greater impact by working together to make a positive contribution to the communities where we operate.
Kicking off the week was a lunch and learn hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters that walked participants through the life-changing process of becoming a mentor to a child in need of support within their community.
Another group of Brookfield Properties employees worked to clean up Chicago’s Ohio and Oak Street Beaches, collecting nearly 200 pounds of garbage and recycling during a morning cleanup benefitting the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a nonpartisan nonprofit working across the region to protect the fresh, clean, and natural waters of the Great Lakes. With 100 percent participation at the beach cleanup, Brookfield Properties’ tax team won a pizza party to celebrate their trash-collecting efforts.
An art show featuring work from Arts of Life offered employees an opportunity to support artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Founded in 2000, this Chicago nonprofit represents over 60 artists with varying levels of physical and intellectual disabilities, providing studio space and a community gallery.
Participants at an Anti-Cruelty Society event created 57 toys for dogs waiting for homes at local Anti-Cruelty adoption centers, while volunteers at a Nourishing Hope event packed 30 boxes for the organization’s warehouse in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. Last year, Nourishing Hope provided the equivalent of four million meals to communities throughout the city.
Employees also had the opportunity to donate to Breakthrough, a community center that supports the citizens of Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood through housing, education, economic opportunities, health and wellness, violence prevention, and spiritual formation. Brookfield Properties’ AP team within the accounting department collected more than $300 worth of donations for the organization.
Rounding out the giving, the Brookfield Properties’ Women Build team put their homebuilding skills to work in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, framing home walls during Habitat for Humanity Chicago’s Women Build event. To date, Brookfield Properties’ Women Build team has raised nearly $12,000 to help fund the construction of at least three homes in the Chicago area to provide permanent and affordable homes for women-led families.
“I’m grateful for the generosity of our entire development team,” said Jen Chaplin, director of construction at Brookfield Properties. “The majority of our fundraising came internally, and I am always impressed by this team. Even though all these women have different roles within our company, they all are very skilled at teamwork, communication, and swinging a hammer.”
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