In keeping with the next-to-the-last item on our Mission Statement, Ace has made charitable contributions to the following organizations in the last few years:
Charlottesville Custom Contractors in their Community
Geoff has served on the Board of Directors for Outreach Counseling Services as well as Children Youth and Family Services (newly renamed “ReadyKids”). He is also a past member of Legal Aid Justice Center’s Advisory Council.
For the last 20 years Judi’s passion has been the local problem of homelessness. She was a founding member of the group which eventually became The Haven and was on the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless. She is a charter member of PACEM and was on the committee that created Charlottesville’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness.
In addition to financial support, Ace has responded to the needs of the less fortunate by volunteering time, material and skill for numerous local charitable building projects. We remodeled a bathroom at First Presbyterian Church, adding a shower so the church could participate in PACEM and offer shelter to local homeless people during cold weather. We have donated projects for MACAA, Love INC, Children Youth & Family Services, Habitat for Humanity and Barrett Early Learning Center among others.
Ace has supported Building Goodness Foundation since its beginnings. This coalition of volunteers from the local construction industry has initiated projects all over Virginia, other parts of the US and has now expanded to third world communities in Central America, the Caribbean and Africa. Ace has sponsored volunteers at many BGF sites. We also take part each year in Building Goodness in April, the Fall Building Project and other efforts sponsored by this fine organization.
The brainchild of Tom Whitehead and Tim Smith, this picnic/benefit helps support PACEM’s cold-weather housing for our local homeless residents. Each autumn Ace teams up with partners like Sandy Motley Catering, Market Street Wines, Blue Ridge Graphics, and Ash Lawn among others. Every year we have served our supporters superb meals and fine wines usually accompanied by notable volunteer local musicians. Through the abundant generosity of our friends, family, co-workers and clients we have been able to make a significant contribution each year to further the work of this group whose goal for Charlottesville’s homeless is “A Pillow For Every Head.”
Western Albemarle High School Boat House & DockAfter becoming an avid rower and raising two daughters who both became standouts for the UVa Crew Team John’s wife, Myriam, decided to start a rowing club at Western Albemarle High School. And then she decided the team needed a boathouse. With remarkable tenacity and resolve, and with the assistance of dozens of kind, helpful people along the way, they researched the needs, acquired a design, got permission to build next to Beaver Creek Reservoir, raised the money and talked Ace into doing the building. We completed our work on this special project in 2009.
Among other Habitat projects Ace participated in their Builder’s Blitz in 2006 during which Ace and dozens of friendly competitors, subcontractors, suppliers and volunteers built 6 houses in one week. A remarkable achievement that has many of our clients asking why we can’t do the same for them….
