ECORE International to Support latest AEC Cares Project, Helping Underprivileged Children on Chicago's South Side

ECORE International is proud to support this year's AEC Cares project, providing flooring to help renovate a community building in Chicago. The project is part of the fourth annual "blitz build," developed in partnership by AEC Cares and Reed Construction Data, bringing together design and construction professionals for a special project within a new community every year.

Joining forces with Metropolitan Family Services, AEC Cares will renovate a 30-year-old building that provides daycare and early learning for infants, toddlers and preschoolers from very low-income families. The project will take place on June 25, in conjunction with the AIA National Convention in Chicago - allowing attendees and exhibitors to participate in the rewarding volunteer experience.

This year, AEC Cares will tackle Metropolitan's newest learning and wellness center, a former school building on Chicago's South Side. The center offers early learning programs for children who are 6 weeks to 5 years of age, giving them a safe place to stay during the day, while building their confidence, their language and social skills, and their interest in learning. The goal for the project is to transform the dull, dated building into a bright, cheerful and fun place that helps Metropolitan inspire the children to achieve.

ECORE International is donating 1,800-square-feet of ECORE Commercial Flooring's Knot Carpet to create a safe and sustainable play area within the facility. The ECO98 Plains interlocking carpet tiles being installed feature a wear layer comprised of 100-percent post-consumer PET bottles and an underlayment that's made out of 98-percent recycled rubber. ECORE, based in Lancaster, Pa., is revolutionizing the flooring industry by taking reclaimed waste and transforming it into unique commercial surfaces.

"ECORE is proud to support this important project, and it underscores our commitment to providing safe and sustainable surfaces for children across the country," said Arthur Dodge III, CEO and president of ECORE International. "The Plains product we are donating is easy to install and remove and will also be soft underfoot in case a child falls. At the core of our business is ECORE's commitment to ensuring the safety, health and wellness of individuals as well as the environment."

AEC Cares has a four-year record of successful projects organized by Reed Construction Data. Starting in 2011, AEC Cares and Reed rebuilt five houses in New Orleans devastated years earlier by Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, teams of architects, contractors and manufacturers added their time and talent to rebuild a house for homeless teens in Washington, D.C., and in 2013, the volunteer teams completed over $225K worth of renovations to a facility for homeless, disabled veterans and adults in Denver.

"In bringing the construction and design industry together to provide a helping hand to the children of Englewood, we're making a difference, one community at a time," said Laura Marlow, Senior Director of Business Development, Reed Construction Data. "AEC Cares is excited to partner with Metropolitan Family Services, USG, and our other generous sponsors to renovate this worn out school, and transform it into a beautiful and fun learning center."

To join the AEC Cares' project or find more information about AEC Cares, visit AECcares.com.