Employees at Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects have an ambitious goal: perform 50 good deeds throughout 2026.
The architectural firm is undertaking this challenge in honor of its 50th anniversary. Employees will be encouraged throughout GRLA’s anniversary year to find opportunities for service in their community and share it with the firm.
Leigh Walker, GRLA’s director of marketing and communications, said the “50 for 50 Initiative” is designed to let the firm’s 30 staff members give back to “what they feel passionate about or connected to.”
The initiative started at the end of 2025, and several projects already are underway. Walker noted that GRLA completed a firm-wide winter coat drive and donated both goods and gift cards to Project Just Because.
“[Efforts] range from stopping and helping someone who needs a tire changed to donating blood,” Walker added. Some employees are conducting their service through their churches, and one staff member is running a teen counseling program with Al-Anon.
GRLA also is looking to expand its reach beyond Hopkinton and the region. According to Walker, the firm has partnered with a group called Steps to Dignity. Architects from the firm are helping the nonprofit develop conceptual plans for a school for girls and a community health center in Sierra Leone.
“The local impact is great, but we can have [an] impact all over,” Walker said in relation to the partnership with Steps to Dignity.
This is not GRLA’s first time running an initiative like this. Walker explained that the business engaged in a 40-for-40 program 10 years ago. This time around, the initiative is driven more by employees than the firm.
“We’re asking people to look at their own community and what they care about,” said Walker. She added that the firm will reflect on its community service during its anniversary party in June.
“We are definitely on track to meet (and hopefully exceed} our goal,” Walker stated in a follow-up email.
