Five Dallas Charities Receive 100+ Bikes and Wagons From McCarthy Building Companies, Inc

DALLAS - May 13, 2014 - PRLog -- The Texas Division of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (http://www.mccarthy.com/locations/dallas/) recently hosted a day of “building” in the community. More than 250 McCarthy employees from the Texas Division constructed 52 bikes and 52 wagons that were donated as a way to give back and celebrate the company’s 150^th anniversary. The teambuilding activity resulted in more than 100 brand new bikes and wagons that were donated to five local charities including the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, the Family Readiness Group, Mi Escuelita Preschool and the Dallas/Fort Worth Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Additionally, helmets and teddy bears were presented to the philanthropic organizations accompanying the bikes and wagons.

McCarthy employees separated into teams and raced to complete their task of building bikes and wagons with the pieces and tools provided to them. After the toys were assembled, each team decorated the bikes and wagons with balloons, signs and streamers. Each team’s unique designs were then rolled around the room in a makeshift parade, which was followed by a “quality assurance test” as employees competed in a pre-made obstacle course. “Adult-size” kids raced colleagues on bikes through a maze of cones while other McCarthy employees participated in a team relay race, pulling wagons through another set of cones with the objective of not dumping out the wagon’s companion, a lone teddy bear.

More than 30 children and their parents from Mi Escuelita Preschool and the Family Readiness Group surprised the McCarthy employees, bursting into the room after the completion of the obstacle course races. McCarthy employees were able to witness firsthand the joy on these kids’ faces as they encountered rows and rows of bikes and wagons complete with streamers and balloons and adorned with signs that stated “built from the heart.” Following the event, McCarthy employees visited the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas to personally deliver the toys to those families in need who could not attend the event. Additionally, McCarthy employees held a donation drop-off for Children’s Medical Center Dallas following the event.

“Our Heart Hats program is invaluable to both McCarthy employees and our neighboring communities. Building bikes and wagons for five deserving local organizations and the children they serve was a rewarding, fun way to celebrate McCarthy’s 150^th anniversary,” said McCarthy Texas Region President Mike McWay. “Strengthening our local community is a key component of McCarthy’s 150 years of success throughout the nation, and taking the time to give back is inherent in our company’s culture.”

Founded as a family-owned business in 1864 during the height of the Civil War, McCarthy is now 100 percent employee owned and the nation’s eighth largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2013) with 2013 revenues exceeding $3 billion. For 150 years, McCarthy has been building communities across America, both by constructing essential projects communities rely on, as well as by helping those who need assistance. To learn more about McCarthy’s Heart Hats program and the organizations that have benefited from this company-wide volunteer program, please visit: http://www.mccarthy.com/about/in-the-community/