Barnhart Balfour Beatty Partners With Sharefest Community Development and Ten Local Schools for the 8th Annual Sharefest Workday, May 14th.

TORRANCE, Calif., May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Construction firm Barnhart Balfour Beatty is partnering with Sharefest Community Development for the 8th Annual Sharefest Workday on May 14, 2011.  Ten schools in the Redondo and Torrance Unified School Districts will benefit from the work performed by Barnhart Balfour Beatty employee volunteers who will complete various school improvement projects such as building tables, benches and planter boxes; performing irrigation work; and providing general painting and clean-up services.  This is the second year the construction firm has supported the community with employee volunteers.

"Barnhart Balfour Beatty is an excellent example of the kind of corporate citizen all companies should strive to be," said Chad Mayer, Executive Director of Sharefest Community Development. "They have been more than generous supporters of the local communities in which they do business.  Equally important is their commitment of time and sweat, working on projects like these side-by-side with the students and families that attend our local schools. Partnerships like this are the heartbeat of Sharefest's Annual Workday, empowering and building community by rallying businesses, churches, local governments, civic organizations and local residents to take ownership and leave a positive imprint in their own neighborhoods," he added.

The schools scheduled for improvements during Sharefest Workday by Barnhart Balfour Beatty volunteers are Adams Middle School, Alta Vista Elementary School, Birney Elementary School, Edison Pre-School, Jefferson Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Madison Elementary School, Riviera Elementary School, Washington Child Development Center, and Towers Elementary School.

Dr. Yuen, Principal of Towers Elementary School in Torrance said, "Having a company like Barnhart Balfour Beatty partner with our school helps us tremendously. Often times, we have a group of willing parents and neighbors that are ready to help, but the planning and coordination can be a challenge. Partnering with Sharefest and Barnhart Balfour Beatty helps us complete projects that we could not plan and coordinate otherwise."

"As a parent, what I love about Sharefest is it gives us a direct way to give back to our students, teachers and the community," said Jeanine Nugent, volunteer project leader for the Towers Elementary School site.

Tom Schlegel, Barnhart Balfour Beatty's Sharefest event coordinator, is pleased to have a partner like Sharefest. "Being closely tied to the community, the Sharefest organization helps us find and organize projects that will directly impact students, and furthers our company's  commitment to giving back to the communities where we work and live. "

About Sharefest Community Development's 8th Annual Workday:

Sharefest Community Development's 8th Annual Workday will be held on Saturday May 14.  The event mobilizes thousands of volunteers throughout Los Angeles County to complete tangible work projects that will change the quality of life for its residents. The Sharefest Workday has a history of coming alongside communities to create an atmosphere of hope and tangible change for the future. The Sharefest workday has been on a trajectory over the last eight years of helping more and more schools and neighborhoods while gathering an increasing number of volunteers from Los Angeles County to create a lasting imprint of positive change to local communities.  Since its inception, the organization has mobilized over 30,000 volunteers to complete more than $6,000,000 worth of projects for Los Angeles County cities and schools.

Sharefest Community Development is looking for more local businesses to join the effort and help the Workday projects come together.  There is a need for donations and support of various sorts, including skilled laborers, landscaping tools and equipment as well as monetary donations.  Any parties interested in participating in any of the other hundreds of projects in the South Bay and Harbor areas, should sign up online at the Sharefest website: www.sharefestinc.org

About Barnhart Balfour Beatty:

Barnhart Balfour Beatty (www.barnhart-balfourbeatty.com) is a full-service general building, engineering and construction management firm.  The company (License #439407) is one of the largest educational builders in the country, has worked on military construction projects for nearly 30 years, and has built award-winning projects for local governments and the healthcare industry.  Barnhart Balfour Beatty is a member of the Balfour Beatty Construction team (www.balfourbeattyus.com), a leader in the U.S. commercial construction industry for 77 years and one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S.

SOURCE Sharefest Community Development