At HMC Architects, we empower our employees to make a difference beyond daily deadlines. And together, we’re investing our time, talents and dollars to serve the greater good. The Designing Futures Foundation (DFF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that was founded by HMC to positively impact the communities in which HMC operates and its employees live. The mission of the DFF is to “Build a Better World.” and community investments align with the firm’s core values and competencies:

• Architecture and Design to positively impact the built environment and to train the next generation of design professionals.
• STEM and STEAM education to train the next generation of innovators and creators.
• Sustainability to build a regenerative future.
• Livable communities to build healthy vibrant communities.

Below are just a few updates from our incredible summer of giving back.

DFF Awards Grants and Scholarships

The DFF is proud to announce the most recent round of social innovation grant awards and annual employee and dependent scholarship awards.

Adanu is a Ghanaian-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works alongside rural, underdeveloped Ghanaian communities to create and establish sustainable solutions for education, and equal opportunities for all people regardless of gender, age or economic status. Adanu’s mission is to ignite the passion of Ghanaian communities to bring about a future filled with opportunity and hope. The DFF grant will support the design and construction of playground and school garden at Mafi Adzokoe in the Volta Region of Ghana.

Southern California Mountains Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes connecting communities to our public lands is the key to their survival. The foundation mobilizes individuals to inspire and engage in environmental citizenship. They support youth development through conservation initiatives integrating environmental education, training and hands-on service projects. The DFF grant will support the Foundation’s Fire Lookout Program’s maintenance, preservation and operation of the Morton Peak Fire Lookout.

Countercurrent Art and The Plastic Pickup  are working to create mindset change by showing people where their pollution goes, and to help reduce the marine pollution problem by education and removal. The DFF grant will support the design and fabrication of a large-scale wave sculpture (named “Fore the Waves”) from over 20,000 recovered golf balls from the bottom of the ocean.

DFF awarded “Dependent Scholarships” to Jaci Glassick (Freshman, UCLA) and Kiyomi Won (Freshman, Dominican University of California). An “Employee Scholarship” was awarded to Hahn Lee to complete the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) Global Summer School two-week course in architecture/parametric design and digital fabrication.

Girls Garage

We had the opportunity to visit Girls Garage in Berkeley, California. Girls Garage provides a safe space for girls and female-identifying youth to learn aspects of building and design, social justice, and communication and community engagement. The girls are working on designing a new 21-foot bench for their neighborhood and were taught essential construction skills such as how to use power tools, read plans, use construction instruments, and build and assemble a backlit bench in sections. Girls Garage founder, Emily Pilloton, stated that through this program, participants are exposed to the many fields of the industry motivating them to seriously consider career options they may never had known existed.

Back to School:

It’s “Back to School” time and HMC had a great time getting students and teachers ready for a new school year. HMC Ontario and San Jose donated and filled dozens of backpacks as part of HomeAid Inland Empire’s “Full Bellies, Warm Hearts” campaign to give school supplies to local children in-need. Ontario filled 34 bags with over 800 supplies for children residing at Inland Empire emergency shelters. San Jose filled 36 bags which they donated to local San Jose nonprofits, Family Giving Tree and Sunnyvale Community Services. Continuing the spirit of the new school year, our Ontario office helped prepare a teacher resource center Inland Empire United Way’s “School Tools”. They replenished school supplies and organized the resource center to prepare teachers and students for the new year.