Houston Organizations, Big and Small, Step Up With Coronavirus Perks — Special Coloring Book, Puzzles, and More Available

As each day of quarantine passes, more and more Houston organizations are joining the effort to provide help on many levels, whether it’s delivering pizza to police officers, sending meals to hospital staff, or sewing masks for health care workers. Now come Hines, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and jewelry designer Christina Greene with something special for those of us urged to stay at home.

Hines

International development firm Hines has designed a free printable coloring book with 26 images of the firm’s projects from around the world, organized from A to Z. It was originally created for Hines 4,600 employees worldwide and has proven so popular that Hines opted to make it available free to the public at this link. You can download it in a choice of two sizes and start coloring.

“Through a recent employee pulse survey, we heard from many of our team members about the challenges of working remotely while also tending to children and overseeing schoolwork,” Hines senior vice president of corporate communications George Lancaster notes. “We quickly produced this creative outlet to bring a little fun to kids of all ages as we all embrace this temporary new normal.”

Lancaster came up with the idea and worked with the corporate communications team to select the global projects and write the copy, keeping the focus through a child’s eyes.

Houston buildings in the book are TC Energy Center, The Galleria, JPMorgan Chase Tower, One Shell Plaza, Pennzoil Place and the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

In this era of social distancing, the Big Brothers Big Sisters adult mentors (Bigs) can no longer  meet up with their assigned youngsters (Littles). Although they keep in touch via phone calls, texts, and video chats, it’s not the same. So, in order to send the youths a bit of joy, BBBS has collaborated with acclaimed artist Jeff Rogers to design and produce a colorful, user-friendly 200-piece puzzle. Plans call for sending it to the 4,000-plus Littles in the BBBS Lone Star footprint.

The limited-edition puzzles, priced $35,  are available for purchase here. For each one purchased, a puzzle will be sent to one of the Littles.

You can follow Big Brothers Big Sisters here on Instagram.

Christina Greene

Houston jewelry designer Christina Greene has been proactive in the pandemic from early on, and this week she added a DIY jewelry kit for kiddos. The kits ($9 each) come in two sizes, one for children and one for adults. They include clear elastic for bracelets, multicolored and gold beads in two size, and the option to add individual letters for personalization.

In addition, Greene — who, before the shutdown, had opened a shop in Rice Village — is thinking ahead to Mother’s Day with the creation of a MAMA necklace ($45). Twenty percent of sales from the necklaces will benefit World of Children, a globally recognized organization that funds and supports individuals serving the needs of at-risk children around the world.

Prior to that, Greene created a True Star necklace that not only salutes frontline workers but also helps the cause. Fifty percent of every $35 necklace goes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation to help with funding for medical supplies, lab testing and public health agencies.

All items are available at Greene’s website.