On Friday, June 19th Goldman Sachs and its Community TeamWorks 2009 brought a small, determined group of employees to Materials for the Arts.  This was the second time we hosted a group from Goldman Sachs and this year, as in 2007, the GS employees participated in a whirlwind of activities.

Since April, Materials for the Arts has been under construction as we expand our facility. Up to this point most of the work has taken place within the 10,000 square feet of space adjacent to our current warehouse.  This “new space” as we have been calling it will include a larger processing area for donations, new offices, two classrooms and a storage room for the Eduction Program's supplies.

The major focus of this year’s Goldman Sachs project was setting up this storage room in anticipation of Summer Institute 2009 which will begin on July 6th. The storage room contains all of the creative materials to be utilized by the Institute's participants.  Working together, these GS employees, who had not met one another until they arrived at our warehouse, worked collaboratively and did an amazing job of moving and stocking the shelves. And they did it in record time!

Afterwards, the GS “crew” split up into two groups.  Team Gargoyle and Team Mannequin were given two rolls of fabric, approximately 8 feet long and 12 inches in diameter.  These types of fabric rolls are cumbersome and awkward for recipients to transport.  In order make this fabric more accessible we often cut these rolls down to size.  Teams Gargoyle and Mannequin were instructed to cut both rolls into 5 yard pieces, fold and put them away as fast as possible.   The resulting competition produced a dramatic effect in the warehouse as shelves filled quickly with beautiful fabric.  In less than an hour the winners were announced.  Team Mannequin won for speed, and Team Gargoyle won for neatness.

Thank you Goldman Sachs 2009 Community TeamWork.  We look forward to seeing you here in 2010.

Click here to see more pictures.