DPR San Diego employees rolled up their sleeves to help participants in the La Colonia Boys & Girls Club – San Dieguito give their moms something they always ask for, a handmade gift.

Approximately 85 children ages 4 through 17 turned out for the after-school event, where they had the opportunity to hand-craft a special gift for their moms for Mother’s Day. Some 15 DPR employees reaped the reward of giving by volunteering their time to plan, prepare and then assist the children in making the Mother’s Day gifts.

They had the choice to make either a planter box that they then filled with flowers, or a custom-crafted cutting board stamped out in various shapes such as a whale, pear, heart or leaf, which they then sanded and oiled to a smooth finish.

The DPR Foundation provided special grant funding for the project. The coordination and planning efforts were extensive, according to Sarah Williams, DPR San Diego office liaison with the organization.

“It was a pretty big undertaking; we had several meetings ahead of time,” she commented. Volunteers prefabricated and cut pieces of the planter boxes for easy assembly and spent many hours coordinating the day so it would go smoothly.

By all accounts their efforts paid off, and the event was a big success.

“The children loved it,” Williams said. “Afterward they were really happy and many told the Boy & Girls Club leaders how nice it was to be able to give their moms something like that – many for the first time ever.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of San Dieguito is one of 15 youth organizations nationally awarded a total of $900,000 in grants by the DPR Foundation in December 2013. Over the past six years, the Foundation has awarded more than $3.2 million to 22 different organizations focused on providing community support to grade school and high school-aged children.