Building Together 2025: A Month on the Water, and a Big Win for SBYSF
We’re so proud to recognize SBYSF as the recipient of the 2025 Building Together Award not just for what they do, but how they do it, with care, grit, and a deep love for the next generation of sailors and community leaders.
We wrapped up our 2025 Building Together charity project this month, and honestly, we’re still pinching ourselves. Working down at the Santa Barbara Harbor all month felt like a dream. Between long days building in the sunshine, post shift hangs at Brophy’s and the Yacht Club, and the satisfaction of supporting an amazing cause… it was pure magic. Like Kiel always says: being on the water is good medicine.
If you’re new here, Building Together is our company’s annual give back initiative, a program we started years ago when I (Emily) still had high hopes of guiding Kellow Construction toward B Corp certification. I loved the idea of building a business rooted in real values. When I saw how the B Corp assessment rewarded companies not just for sustainability, but for things like supporting workers, creating community impact, and operating with transparency, I knew we had to bake those values into our culture early.
You can learn more about Building Together here:
Kellow Construction | Building Together
This year’s community partner came to us through a friend who told us: “SBYSF really needs help, are you interested?”
And immediately, we were!
Why SBYSF?
The Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation (SBYSF) is a nonprofit with a mission that’s both beautiful and practical: teach kids the art of seamanship, sailing, and sailboat racing, all while instilling values like fitness, self reliance, teamwork, responsibility, and sportsmanship. It's safety focused, community rooted, and totally inspiring.
If you’ve ever walked the harbor on a weekend and seen those tiny Optimist boats zigzagging across the water with little sailors at the helm, you’ve seen SBYSF in action. It’s joyful, it’s disciplined, and it’s exactly the kind of organization we love to support.
What We Built
SBYSF needed safer, longer lasting docks to serve their growing program. Our carpentry crew got to work,building the new docks on land to strict marine grade specs. We used Merco hardware, advanced flotation systems, and TimberTech decking for durability and safety.
Once the docks were complete, the SBYSF volunteers stepped in. They removed the old docks and carefully ferried the new ones into place near the boat storage area, where we all came together to secure and install them.
And yep, it rained. The wind howled. But somehow, none of it mattered. It was one of the most fun, rewarding projects we’ve ever done. Be sure to check out our full gallery of the project.
At Kellow Construction, we believe that how we build matters just as much as what we build. Projects like these remind us that craftsmanship, community, and connection can live side by side. And that’s something we’ll always be proud to stand behind. If you made it this far and want to know more, you can read about our company values here.
Until next time, see you on the docks. ⚓