08/24/2026
Volunteers revitalized common spaces at a women's center.
As thousands of architects descended on this year’s host city of San Diego for the AIA convention, Sika once again participated in the AEC Cares event the day before the expo opened. AEC Cares was established in 2011 as a charitable outlet for the staff at the construction reporting platform, ConstructConnect, as a way to give back each year at the AIA Convention along with partner sponsors. Typically, the event centers on giving back to youth or veterans in need in the local community. Sika was first approached to be a participating sponsor of the event in 2023 when the AIA Convention took place in San Francisco.
Sika has now been a sponsor for four years running, with each subsequent year bringing more industry volunteers to the event. For the 2026 San Diego event, Sika donated $5,000 to help fund the supplies needed and had 9 volunteers participate. In total, there were over 100 volunteers, made up of ConstructConnect staff and industry participants. This year’s event took place at the Rachel’s Women’s Center operated by the Catholic Charities of San Diego.
The center provides a safe daytime refuge for women facing homelessness or poverty, with access to rooming, meals, showers, and general support. Volunteers completely revitalized several common spaces, including painting, installing new furniture and storage, adding new decorative elements, and much more.
During the lunch break at the event, participants also got the rare treat of some guest speakers, including the head of the Catholic Charities of San Diego and one local woman who had utilized the center to get back on her feet and who expressed how much this project would mean to those women using the center now and in the future.
All in all, these speakers were a true testament to the impact the day’s work could have on so many local people in need. Sika’s volunteers were extremely proud of what they accomplished together that day as a team and of being there representing Sika.
