Capital Region CANstruction is an annual exhibit and design competition that connects talented architects, engineers, contractors, and students in the capital region of New York State to imagine and create colossal structures built completely out of canned food items. The structures are displayed for two weeks in the spring at Crossgates Mall to raise awareness of food insecurity in our region while highlighting local design talent. At the close of the exhibit, every can is donated to the Food Pantries for the Capital District to help feed families in the Capital Region.
This year's design theme was "Dream STEAM: If you CAN dream it, STEAM it." STEAM celebrates Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. MJ's #DREAMSTEAM set off to tackle our design focusing on the arts with our creative crayon CANstructure.
Our inspiration: Innovation and dreams begin with the simplest tools and imagination. We used crayons to draw our dreams, school projects, inventions, and thoughts as children. We discovered the magic of creativity using these simple tools. Promoting creativity in children makes our future brighter and creates the next generation of scientists, engineers, and artists. Together we can dream and color a world free from hunger!
This year, MJ’s team raised thousands of dollars in donations, building our vibrant crayon CANstructure with 4,608 canned goods and donating 6,862 cans to local food pantries. Our collective efforts, alongside other teams, resulted in over 50,000 cans donated through the Capital Region CANstruction initiative.
CAN War Highlights:
We saw tremendous participation in our office CAN War competition, which brought in 2,159 cans through friendly rivalry between our offices and contributions from our Saratoga County partner donation boxes at Healthy Living Market - Saratoga Springs, Bound By Fate Brewery, and Pretty Lovely Esthetics.
The winners of the CAN Wars were the Cadastral Crew Canners with 637 cans, the Picatinny Canimals with 504 cans, and the Can Crusaders with 247 cans.
Raffle Fundraiser:
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our small business donors for our annual CANstruction raffle fundraiser. Their generosity helped us raise additional funds to support our cause. We are grateful for the support of BMT Hospitality, Burn Bootcamp, Prime at Saratoga National, Albany Distillery, The Roosevelt Room, Moscatiello's Italian Family Restaurant, Cardona's Market, Salon 1533, Sea Smoke Grill, Pretty Lovely Esthetics, Bare Blends, Whistling Kettle, Fracture Glass Prints, Solevo Kitchen, The Bunker, Chick-Fil-A Clifton Park, Dogtopia Latham, and Get Air Trampoline Park who contributed goods and services to our raffle.
Corporate Sponsors:
Our heartfelt gratitude goes to our corporate sponsors whose generous donations made our team build possible:
Platinum Sponsors
Morris Ford
Friedman Fisher Associates, P.C.
Reverus
Gold Sponsors
Capital Bank
Rose & Kiernan/NFP
Staff Ciampino & Company
Dimensions Fabricators
Lane
Northwestern Mutual/Tronco Financial Group
Keystone Precision Solutions
Harris Beach
IMAGINiT Technologies
Silver Sponsors
Jade Stone Engineering
ADS
Terracon
Dave Tarella
TCT
Renaissance Geotechnical
Atlantic Testing Laboratories
Adelaide Environmental
Ambient Environmental
Kathy Suozzo PE
Highmark Blue Shield
Bronze Sponsor
Trophy Point
2024 Awardees:
We are thrilled to announce that in our 10th year competing in CANstruction, MJ’s team has been honored with two prestigious awards: the coveted People’s Choice Award and the second year in a row for the Best Signage Award! Our crayon CANstructure, designed to symbolize creativity in STEAM and the fight against hunger, captivated the hearts of the public and the judges alike.
Thank you to everyone who participated, donated, and supported our CANstruction efforts. Together, we are making a difference in the communities that we serve! Here’s to another decade of dreaming, building, and creating a world free from hunger!
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