A Fresh Start for a Space Built to Help Kids Grow

In the Community, News

Tillie’s Touch

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Sometimes making a difference starts with something as simple as a fresh coat of paint.

Our team recently spent a day volunteering at Tillie’s Touch in Syracuse, helping renovate the organization’s tutoring space at 211 Catawba Street. The project gave our team a chance to put some hands-on work toward an organization that has been helping local children pursue their goals for more than 15 years.

Founded in 2009, Tillie’s Touch was created with a simple goal: help make it possible for children to participate in sports, regardless of their family’s ability to afford the necessary equipment. Over the years, that mission has grown to include academic support as well. The organization provides school supplies, tutoring, and other opportunities designed to help children succeed both on and off the field.

Creating a Better Place to Learn

The tutoring space at Tillie’s Touch is an important part of that work. It provides a place where young people can get academic support and work toward meeting their educational goals.

Our team helped give the space a fresh coat of paint, bringing some new life to the tutoring area and creating a brighter, more welcoming environment for the children who use it. New flooring and storage cabinets are also planned as part of the renovation, which will help make the space more functional for the programs taking place there. New flooring and storage cabinets are also planned as part of the renovation, which will help make the space more functional for the programs taking place there.

For our team, the work was a small project with a meaningful purpose. Instead of building something from the ground up, we were helping improve a space that is already being used to support children in our community.

Supporting Kids On and Off the Field

What makes Tillie’s Touch unique is the way its programs connect athletics and academics. The organization’s soccer programs give children an opportunity to participate in a sport while its academic programs help them stay on track in school. Its tutoring program supports players who need additional academic help, reinforcing the organization’s goal of helping young people succeed beyond the playing field.

That mission made the volunteer project a natural fit for our team. Construction is what we do every day, but being able to use those skills and our time to improve a community space gives the work a different kind of purpose.

We’re grateful to everyone on our team who volunteered and helped make the space brighter and more welcoming. We’re also proud to support the people at Tillie’s Touch who continue to create opportunities for local children to learn, play, and work toward their goals.

To learn more about Tillie’s Touch, its programs, and ways to support its work, visit Tillie’s Touch.