On Diapers, Determination & Disaster-Relief: Fall 2024 Capital Square Cares Initiatives

Capital Square has long rallied our team in pursuit of being the change needed in the communities where we work, live, build and invest. Still, in recent months, when another urgent need disrupted our fall donation and wellness initiatives, our team stayed flexible and responded to as many calls as possible. The results were not only multiplicitous. They were also profound.

In September 2024, the Capital Square team had already embarked upon a two-pronged effort:

• Our annual donation drive to support Little Hands Virginia’s “Big Diaper Drive” began with a new commitment to not only meet last year’s donation of over 4,000 diapers but to raise the total to 10,000 diapers.
• In addition, a team wellness initiative, centered on the American Heart Association’s Richmond Heart Walk, also included health, exercise, mindfulness and fundraising challenges.

However, the 2024 hurricane season wrought unexpected complications. Late September, Hurricane Helene rolled in, devastating regions far from the coast once thought to be safe havens from natural disasters like hurricanes.

Multiple of Capital Square’s northern Georgia properties were impacted by the storm. However, hit the hardest were our multifamily communities in Asheville, North Carolina. The rapid response time and meticulous undertakings of our Capital Square Living team epitomized why entering property management was a change-maker for Capital Square residents, investors and our firm as a whole.

We could have paused everything, but we didn’t. Amid emergency-response resident and investor communications, our Capital Square Cares team pivoted in new directions too. The results of these initiatives are a reminder of what it means when we say we are building something bigger than ourselves.

By the end of October 2024:

• We collected and donated 100+ bins of clothing and household items for our affected Asheville residents and team members, renting a sizeable truck and driving to North Carolina ourselves to ensure a hassle-free delivery.

• We exceeded our 10,000 diaper goal for Little Hands Virginia’s 2024 “Big Diaper Drive,” with a donation total of 13,153. Approximately 20 Capital Square Living communities from across Virginia worked together with our corporate team to deliver upon our promise for the youth of our state.

• We maintained our team member health and wellness challenge, not only establishing five Capital Square teams that walked in the American Heart Association’s Richmond Heart Walk on October 19, 2024, but also raising over $2,000 for the American Heart Association while driving team heath awareness and tangible exercise and nutrition goals.

As these efforts wrapped up, many of our team members could take a well-earned deep breath. Our diaper drive underwent multiple rapid pivots. Our American Heart Association efforts and team challenges shifted amid other fast-moving goals. A literal hurricane was faced and answered.

The recovery from Helene will be a long road, but being the change needed is a rallying cry our team has always believed in. This is how we live our mission to raise capital, buildings and expectations, and this is how we will continue to.