CATEC and Charlottesville architecture firm partner for United Way Day of Caring

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - On Sept. 21, the 31st annual United Way Day of Caring kicked off with projects all across central Virginia.

CATEC celebrated the event by partnering with Candace M.P. Smith Architect, a Charlottesville architecture firm, for this year’s project: a new mural on its auto service technology shed.

Candace Smith, the owner of Candace Smith Architect, knew she wanted her firm to partner with CATEC this year.

United Way has a list of projects that are available each year, and if there is one that you want, you have to be fast.

“You have about 10 seconds when the computers open to sign up,” Smith said. “We actually had emailed ahead of time and scouted them out to see if we were a good fit for them.”

Despite a blip when signing up, it worked out and they secured the project.

“When we signed up it was actually closed, but we thought we had missed out and someone else had signed up. But there was a technical difficulty, so we were able to get back and get the project,” Smith said.

Now, they’re painting the Blue Ridge Mountains on the side of a shed behind the school.

“They realized there was a lot of potential in this particular structure, to paint it and to get a message across, so we’re trying to communicate a message with a mural on top of the building that will sort of tell the story of CATEC and where we are and what we do,” CATEC Assistant Principal Anthony Smith said.

They say that above all, this day is about bringing the community together.

“Being connected to the community is really important to us, we are trying as best as we can to have relationships with lots of people,” Anthony said.

The Day of Caring usually takes place on the third Wednesday of September every year.

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