Facility Services’ team spreads holiday cheer

In the spirit of the holiday season, the Facility Services team (along with a few friends from Housing & Conference Services) has been sharing their skills to support the Hamilton community. During our annual Day of Service, team members volunteered their time at the Hamilton Ronald McDonald House and the Eva Rothwell Centre. 

Located across the street from McMaster, the Ronald McDonald House provides meals, accommodations, and other supports to families with children receiving care at McMaster Children’s Hospital. Volunteers from Facility Services repaired items around the building, helped with cleaning and most excitingly, put up seasonal decorations to spread some holiday cheer. 

“As a home-away-from-home for the 40 families each night, we want to emphasize the importance of the work that you are doing in refreshing these spaces and providing comfort and solace to our families,” says Alan Ford, facilities manager of the Hamilton Ronald McDonald House. 

“Your commitment and hard work in enhancing our outdoor spaces helps us to sprinkle some holiday magic into the lives of families going through a difficult medical journey, far away from home.” 

Facility Services has also maintained a positive and long-standing relationship with the Eva Rothwell Centre, a grassroots charitable organization serving a code red district in Hamilton. Through the Eva Rothwell Centre, community members in need can access a primary healthcare team on site, free essential services, a food pantry, clothing room and childcare services during the summer months with day camp programming. All services are available at no or extremely low cost. 

“As a charitable organization providing free educational, health, and recreational programs and essential services, we strive for organizations to give back and impact the community. Renovations and project work need to be done by these types of partnerships,” says Sam Campanella, executive director of the Eva Rothwell Centre. 

“Partnering with the McMaster Facilities Services department for several years has been a wonderful experience.” 

Our volunteers spent the day maintaining the building, cleaning various spaces including the gymnasium, stage, kitchen, bathrooms, and stairwells. For many on the custodial team, they’ve come to know the building and the staff members well, as the Facility Services team has been coming to the site for over 15 years. 

Ehab Kamarah, AVP and chief facilities officer, believes that sharing our staff talents and supporting our neighbors is a win-win.

“The McMaster community reaches far beyond the borders of campus. Supporting our community partners through our Days of Service is a great way for our team to step out of the day-to-day and share their talents with others,” says Kamarah. 

“And while we work hard, our teams return to campus energized and more connected to the amazing work being done in the Hamilton community.”