Press Releases
Accenture Teams up with Amidon Elementary to Tackle School's Facility Problems
Accenture employees donated over 1,000 hours improving school's facilities during past year
Company to take part in Hands on DC's annual work-a-thon for further improvements
Washington - Recognizing the problems of severe disrepair in DC's public school facilities, Accenture and its employees have fulfilled a crucial community need by creating dramatic improvements in Amidon Elementary School's facility and in the quality of life for its teachers and students. Over the past year, Accenture's employees have provided over 1,000 volunteer hours in projects designed to boost school pride and create a learning friendly environment for Amidon's students.
Accenture began its outstanding relationship with Amidon last May through Hands on DC - a local, all volunteer organization that organizes an annual day-long work-a-thon to improve the conditions of DC's public school facilities, raises funds for college scholarships and fosters the development of long-term relationships between schools and volunteers. During the 2004 work-a-thon, Accenture's employees created 10 learning gardens that allow students to observe and participate in hands on science and horticulture lessons. Since that time Accenture has developed an ongoing partnership with the elementary school in southwest Washington, organizing 3 separate Accenture-Amidon service days.
Examples of projects completed during the service days include a complete refurbishment of the 470 square foot teacher's lounge with fresh paint and a new air conditioning unit and a "reclaim the school color" initiative to bring a fresh coat of red and white paint to the lobby and counseling offices and a large dose of school pride to the students and teachers at Amidon.
"Working on the Accenture-Amidon partnership over the last year has been one of the most fulfilling and important things I have ever done" says RJ Wolf, co-leader of the initiative. "It's easy to get discouraged with school conditions-as a District resident I see it and read about it every day. However, I'm proud to work for a company that supports this urgent cause, and inspired by the number of concerned co-workers who show up asking "How can I help?"
Accenture announced today that it will participate again this year in Hands on DC's annual work-a-thon scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 7th.
"Accenture epitomizes one of Hands on DC's primary goals: fostering lasting relationships between community members, corporate citizens and DC's public schools. We are thankful to Accenture for their work throughout the year and look forward to their participation in the 2005 Annual Hands on DC Work-a-thon," said Billy Pizer, Hands on DC Co-Director.
Hands on DC's annual work-a-thon will take place on Saturday, May 7th. The event will kick-off at Cardoza High School (1300 Clifton Street NW) at 9:00 am. From there approximately 2,500 volunteers will disperse to 33 DC Public Schools throughout the city for painting, landscaping and other special projects. For more information on the work-a-thon, please visit the Hands on DC website at www.handsondc.org
About Accenture: Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 110,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$13.67 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2004. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About Hands on DC: Hands on DC is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization working to create better schools and brighter futures for DC's public school students. Each year, Hands on DC organizes a day-long work-a-thon in which thousands of volunteers complete painting, landscaping and other improvement projects at schools throughout the district. In addition, volunteers collect pledges that fund college scholarships for outstanding DC students. To date, Hands on DC and its partner organization, College Bound, have administered nearly half a million dollars in college scholarships. To learn more about Hands on DC and our annual work-a-thon, please visit our website at www.handsondc.org
