One hundred and fifty local T-Mobile employees recently took time off work to renovate the Boys & Girls Club's Highland Park Unit. The project was part of T-Mobile's national Huddle Up initiative, which addresses the need for safe, quality after-school programs for children across the country.
T-Mobile Chattanooga chose the Boys & Girls Club because it saw an opportunity to freshen up the facility of an after-school program that serves 1,200 kids annually, representatives said.
"It's a win-win for the Boys & Girls Club, but also for us and for our employees," said Tim Krug, T-Mobile Chattanooga's call center director. "There's nothing that feels better than giving back to the community."
To gather funds for the project, T-Mobile employees donated money from their own pockets and the company matched the funds dollar for dollar. Together, they raised $9,000 for paint supplies, landscaping equipment, games and furniture.
Though the renovations mean a better place to hang out, it was seeing the community come out to support them that really impacted the kids.
"We didn't know too many people cared about the Boys & Girls Club," said 16-year-old Calvin Johnson. "Feels good, seeing people support us and all that. They want to see us do good and have a great community."