KBE Building Corp. Making a Difference for Seniors with $50,000 Donation to Tower One/Tower East

NEW HAVEN, Conn., August 28, 2014 (Newswire.com) - KBE Building Corporation continues its legacy of corporate giving with a $50,000 donation that’s making a difference in the lives of 34 residents at the Tower One/Tower East senior living community in New Haven, CT.

KBE’s President and CEO Mike Kolakowski; Director of Marketing Jonelle Lawhorn; and Manager of Business Development Barrie Deschaine presented the check to Tower One/Tower East President and CEO Mark Garilli on Aug. 21.

"KBE has proven itself to be a true community leader, not just through the company's ongoing support of our programs here, but throughout the community through their 50 Ways to Make A Difference program."

Mark Garilli , Tower One/Tower East President and CEO

The donation is part of KBE’s corporate philanthropic program 50 Ways to Make a Difference, which since 2009 has donated more than $1.2 million and 5,000 volunteer hours to charitable causes benefiting children, seniors, and military veterans in Connecticut and Maryland.

“KBE has proven itself to be a true community leader, not just through the company’s ongoing support of our programs here, but throughout the community through their 50 Ways to Make A Difference program,” Tower One/Tower East President and CEO Mark Garilli told the audience of residents and staff gathered for the check presentation.

KBE’s donation will help The Towers implement several new programs to help promote resident wellness:

·         The Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, to help residents reduce the pain and stiffness of arthritis

·         Memory Groups for Mild Cognitive Impairment, to help residents recognize the changes associated with memory decline while offering specific helpful action steps

·         A Fall Prevention Program, to identify potential dangers in residents’ apartments while providing gentle exercises that build strength and improve balance

Tower One resident Evelyn Siegal offered her thanks for the donation to KBE’s President and CEO Mike Kolakowski on behalf of herself and the 33 other residents who participate in Tower One’s Arthritis program, which KBE’s donation has helped make possible. She explained how the program had helped her regain her mobility after a lengthy recovery from a heart attack last year.

“Through this program, I have made tremendous progress and am now able to walk on my own in my apartment using a walker,” Siegal told the group gathered in the Towers’ courtyard for the donation presentation. “I wanted to let you know how grateful we all are to you for contributing to this program. Our weekly sessions with our certified instructor have become quite the social event as well.”

KBE’s ongoing donations have helped develop and educate The Towers’ fundraising team through the Benevon training program while helping the facility implement a burgeoning wellness program for its elderly residents. 

“Wellness programs are essential for seniors’ quality of life, and we’ve been delighted to help The Towers make them a reality,” said KBE principal owner and CEO Mike Kolakowski. “It’s an added bonus to the renovation work we’ve been able to contribute to this historic property.”     

KBE has been working at Tower One/Tower East for decades; the firm recently completed Phase VIII of the multi-year, multi-million-dollar building project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s largest Assisted Living Conversion Project grant.

“When The Towers were constructed, the focus of its sponsors and HUD was simply to provide housing and community to those in need,” said Garilli. “Over time, The Towers have added many more services, and KBE has played a tremendous role in enabling our residents to safely ‘age in place.’”

High-resolution photographs of the check presentation are available here. Photos courtesy of Tower One/Tower East.

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l-r: Mike Kolakowski, CEO and a principal owner of KBE Building Corporation; Barrie Deschaine, Business Development Manager, KBE; Mark Garilli, CEO of Tower One/Tower East; and Jonelle Lawhorn, Director of Marketing, KBE.

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l-r: Mark Garilli, CEO of Tower One/Tower East; Evelyn Siegal, resident of Tower One/Tower East; Mike Kolakowski, CEO and a principal owner of KBE Building Corporation.

KBE’s 2014 charitable efforts have also included a 60-backpack donation to the Cardinal Shehan Center; a $2,000 donation to Hands on Hartford; and $17,000 in scholarships awarded to students within Connecticut’s technical high school system.

About KBE Building Corporation

Regionally located in Farmington, Conn., and Columbia, Md., KBE Building Corporation is a full-service, single-source commercial construction company strategically positioned to serve the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. Founded in 1959 and incorporated in 1966, the firm is celebrating its 55th year providing preconstruction, construction management, design-build, and general contracting services to clients in the senior living, educational, federal, corporate, hospitality, health care, institutional, and retail markets. KBE has managed more than $2.5 billion in construction volume over the last decade and is ranked among Engineering News-Record magazine's top 400 construction companies nationally.

Media Contact: Jonelle Lawhorn | KBE Director of Marketing

t: 860.284.7431| c: 860.836.7517 | f: 860.284.7831 | e: jlawhorn@kbebuilding.com