Commitment to community

Commitment to community has always been a Newman trademark. Through our collective work and individual volunteer efforts, we remain dedicated to improving communities close to home and around the world.

Our hands-on support of Schools for the Children of the World, an international organization devoted to improving the educational opportunity for impoverished children, allows us to share our skills with those in need. As a co-founder of the organization, Chuck Newman has most recently donated his time and talent to the design and construction of schools in Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Nigeria. Together, Chuck and Dawn are designing a school for the community of Tikondane in Zambia, Africa. You can learn more about Schools for the Children of the World by visiting its website, www.schoolsforchildren.org.  You can also make a contribution or sign up to join one of SCW's trips to Honduras by following this link:   http://www.newmanarchitecture.com/Contact/Service/SCWAppForm.html

We also extend our service and support to the people of Duchity, Haiti, where Leanne Meyer-Smith designed and oversaw the construction of a Catholic church. We are now in the planning stages of designing and developing a health care center for the village.

We have developed business partnerships with many schools in Naperville’s District 203. We are not only involved in a program where professionals share information about their profession with students, but each year we also invite students from Naperville North High School to spend a day at the Newman Architecture office. We talk with them about the nature of our work and guide these students in a fun learning exercise in which they design, draw, and build a model of a dog house.  

We continue to support a number of community initiatives as well, particularly through our enduring relationship with the Naperville Sunrise Rotary Club.  As president of the club, Dawn Newman has led efforts that support a local homeless shelter and food pantry, an annual drive to collect coats and Christmas gifts for the needy, a program that provides scholarships to high school students, and a program that offers grants to many worthwhile charitable organizations in the surrounding community. Through Dawn’s commitment to the Rotary Club, we have also supported the development of a hydroelectric plant in Duchity, Haiti and the creation of two wells that provide clean water to people in Tikondane, Zambia. As this is only a sample of the chapter’s good work, you can learn more by visiting its website at www.napervillesunrise.com.