News
Season of Giving
November 24, 2010
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| The holiday season also marks annual CANstruction events, a design-build competition where firms build giant-sized structures made entirely out of canned food. In each city, after the structures are built and winners declared, the creations are put on view to the general public as art exhibits, and then the food is donated to local food banks. Thornton Tomasetti received the “Juror's Favorite†for the second year in a row during the NYC competition at the World Financial Center on Nov. 15. Its entry, “The BabushCAN,†depicted traditional Russian nesting dolls and used 3,472 cans of tuna, peaches in pear juice, beef broth, vegetarian beans in tomato sauce, pork and beans in tomato sauce, and pink and green beans (enough to feed 2,000 hungry New Yorkers). Its NJ team walked away with an Honorable Mention for its tribute to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's recent $100M donation to Newark schools. |
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| In NJ, NK Architects of Morristown won “Juror's Favorite†for their CANstrucure, “Newark City Subway 1954-2001â€, which used a whopping 17,264 cans of food. Held at Prudential Center in Newark, in conjunction with the New Jersey Devils' “Jersey Hockey Fight Hunger,†initiative, AIA-NJ's CANstruction helped raise over 45,000 pounds of canned food and $2,000 for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey for distribution to community food programs. |
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| In Brooklyn, Skanska Koch (which is working as construction on the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge rehabilitation projects) gave back to the local community by donating 100 turkeys, stuffing, and gravy for needy families in the DUMBO neighborhood, as well donating numerous coats. Above, workers from the firm met local families at the Farragut Houses Community Center. |
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| And the New York Businesswomen's Network partnered with the NYC Food Bank to give thousands of hungry New Yorkers a Thanksgiving dinner through the charity's NYC Go Orange program (one in five New Yorkers are in need, with a majority of them women and children). On Nov. 10, the group held a fall fundraiser at Artsource International's Park Avenue South showroom, and the 100 attendees raised $7,500 to donate to the food bank. |
