Cornerstone has provided design assistance to aid the noble humanitarian efforts of ForThisOne.org to build composting toilets in earthquake ridden Haiti. Construction of the first composting toilet project in the Jubilee Blanc neighborhood of Gonaïves, Haiti is about half-way done. Working with a Haitian construction crew, they now have the foundation and barrel enclosure finished. Next up, the concrete floor of the stalls, toilet bowls, and privacy enclosures need to be completed. The village of Jubilee has no real sanitation facilities left to speak of. There are a few private outhouses in this village, but nothing that is public and accessible to all who live there. There is no running water or sewage system in any of the modest houses and huts that comprise the village, so people have to go far out into the fields. The problem with this is that many of the villagers, including very malnourished children, go shoeless in this same area. Parasites such as hookworms enter the body through the soles of the feet and can rob an already malnourished child of 20% of his nutrients. The idea behind the dry toilets project is to make their living areas more sanitary and improve the health of the whole community. Working with local construction crews gives the opportunity to pass the toilet design and goals of the project onto local people who can then replicate it as needed. Cornerstone is proud to have been a part of this incredible effort. See the recent article in the Brunswick Sentinel.

The 2010 General Assembly took place July 8-11, 2010, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 3,000 staff members and community volunteers from YMCAs across the nation gathered at the once-every-three-years meeting to focus on the work being done at 2,687 YMCA facilities nationwide to help children develop in healthy environments and to strengthen families. Mike Soriano represented Cornerstone and participated on behalf of the firm as member of the YMCA of the USA’s Partner Provider Network to offer comprehensive architectural design services to YMCAs. This dynamic network expands resources available to YMCAs while ensuring use of new insights consistent with YMCA values and practices. Cornerstone draws from a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer YMCAs exceptional guidance in developing and managing YMCA properties. The firm will partner with Y Associations to ensure that their facilities support program needs, and that services inspire a positive member experience. CAG assists Y’s from “start to finish” to identify areas of significant savings in construction and operational costs while achieving design excellence. Cornerstone will continue focus on the Y’s missions “For Youth Development, For Healthy Living and For Social Responsibility”.