Building Change: A Day of Service with the Houston BOMA Foundation

Houston BOMA members, volunteers, and industry partners came together for the Houston BOMA Foundation’s Building Change: Community Impact Day at 419 Emancipation, putting their commercial real estate expertise to work for a cause that matters. Held in partnership with the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, the event reflected the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to giving back to the community it serves.

419 Emancipation provides permanent supportive housing and critical resources for individuals experiencing homelessness, helping residents build stability, independence, and hope for the future. Throughout the day, volunteers worked side by side to enhance the property through a series of improvement projects designed to create a safer, more welcoming environment for residents.

Volunteers assembled care packages and served breakfast and lunch to residents, adding a personal touch to the day’s work. They also cleaned interior windows, assembled shelves, and reorganized a clothing shop, storage, and laundry room. Skilled trade projects, made possible by generous in-kind service providers, brought professional expertise to areas such as commercial kitchen cleaning, exterior window washing, interior painting, building cleaning, and landscaping.

Thanks to the generosity of members and partners, the Houston BOMA Foundation donated 2,000 individual items and 130 complete care packages to 419 Emancipation, providing residents with essential supplies and everyday necessities. The event was led by the Leadership Lyceum Class of 2026 as its Capstone Project, in collaboration with Houston BOMA’s Community Outreach Committee. Their planning, coordination, and dedication brought the day to life and demonstrated the leadership the program is designed to cultivate.

Special Thanks

Houston BOMA thanks the event sponsors whose support made Community Impact Day possible: Allied Universal, Firetron, Houston Catering Concepts, Optum, and Velociti.

Thanks also to the in-kind service providers who contributed their professional expertise: ABM (commercial kitchen deep cleaning), JOBS-AMST (exterior window washing and power washing), CertaPro Painters of Pearland (interior painting), Texscape Services (landscaping), and CCS Facility Services (secondary building cleaning).

Houston BOMA also extends its gratitude to Council Member Twila Carter for her involvement and partnership in supporting this effort.

Finally, thank you to every volunteer who gave their time and energy, everyone who donated items, and to 419 Emancipation for welcoming Houston BOMA to its community.

See highlights from the event on our Flickr Album.