9/13/2013, Quincy, MA — J. Calnan & Associates, Inc. and Team IMPACT were recently recognized by the Boston Business Journal as Partners of the Year for their continued work to improve the quality of life for children facing life threatening illnesses by matching them with college athletic teams.
The announcement was made recently at the eighth annual Corporate Philanthropy Summit held at the Westin Boston Waterfront which was attended by nearly 1000 leaders representing a wide range of local and national companies with a presence in Massachusetts as well as many non-profit organizations.
The concept of creating partnerships between sick children and college athletic teams has been around for decades, dating back to the 1960s when football players from Middlebury College started “Picking Up Butch.” Since then, there have been countless teams that have “picked up” a kid just like Butch, including UConn Men’s Basketball inspiration Joe McGinn; USC Men’s Football’s support of Jake Olson; and Northwestern University Women’s Lacrosse “adoption” of Jaclyn Murphy, to just name a few.
It’s a win all the way around: the child gains lasting friendship, support and a much-needed diversion from their medical realities and the 18-22 year-old student athlete draws inspiration and a whole new perspective on life. As a father, former athlete and businessman, Jay Calnan, CEO of J. Calnan & Associates knew there was something to this idea and that this program needed to be funded, formalized and built upon, through the help of others.
By leveraging the resources of J. Calnan and Associates and the working together with an esteemed Board of Directors, they hit the ground running and 2 years ago, Team IMPACT – which stands for Inspire, Motivate, Play Against Challenges Together – was born. In just 2 short years, Team IMPACT has quickly grown and now has to close to 10,000 program participants across half the country!
About J. Calnan & Associates, Inc.
J. Calnan & Associates is a leader in providing construction management and preconstruction services in the Academic, Corporate, Healthcare and Science & Technology markets in the New England region and beyond. For over 16 years, our strategic thinking, proactive approach and commitment to clients and the communities in which we live has made us a leader in the industry and attracted high-profile clients including Boston Properties, Biogen IDEC, Atlantic Management, Children’s Hospital, PTC Inc, Reebok, Shire Pharmaceuticals, The Park School, New England Sports Network (NESN), Philips, Constant Contact, The MathWorks and General Electric to name a few. Among recent awards, JCA has received a Boston Business Journal Citizenship award for its philanthropic efforts six years in a row and Corenet recognized JC&A as “Regional Service Provider of the Year.” More information can be found at www.jcalnan.com.
About Team IMPACT
Team IMPACT is a Boston-based 501(c)3 non-profit chartered to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses. Across more than half of the country, Team IMPACT creates unparalleled team based support systems for these children and their families. Core to their model is harnessing the power of teamwork by matching these courageous kids with college athletic teams. Team IMPACT children are drafted onto local college athletic teams and, to the greatest extent possible, become an official member of the team for the duration of their treatment and beyond.
www.goteamimpact.org
@GoTeamIMPACT
