Drive for 155 (2025)

Drive for 155

DuPage Pads' Race to End Homelessness

Some photos from last year's race!

While it doesn’t always feel this way (especially given our mid-May temps of a mere 50 degrees!), summer is indeed approaching. The season conjures up outdoor activities, vacations, and, of course, shorts and t-shirts. At Studio21 Architects, all the above are welcome aspects of the season, but summer also means that it is time to prepare for another Drive for 155 kart race! 

This event is a favorite for the Studio21 Architects team, with 2025 marking our sixth year participating in the race. Because of the special place this event and the DuPage PADS foundation as a whole has in our collective hearts, we always like to devote some newsletter to Drive for 155 in advance of the race itself. Founded in 1985, DuPage PADS provides interim and permanent housing for those experiencing homelessness in DuPage County. DuPage PADS understands that homelessness is not a straightforward issue with a basic solution; each person PADS serves has their own story, goals, and needs, and the philosophy of DuPage PADS is not about just putting a band-aid over the issue but stopping the cycle as a whole.  

In addition to housing, DuPage PADS offers supplemental support for mental health, resources for victims of domestic violence, case management, and employment support—just to name a few. One of the groundbreaking ways that PADS supports the community is in their IHC (Interim Housing Center). In 2022, the purchased what used to be a Red Roof Inn and, since then, have been renovating the space to transform this old hotel into a center for housing up to three hundred people, with a cafeteria, snack bar, and all of the supplementary support services this foundation offers. Last year, Bill toured the IHC with some of the DuPage PADS team to learn about how the center works, who it helps, and what we can do to help PADS bolster this facility. Click here to watch the YouTube video about the IHC! 

​This year marks the fifteenth annual Drive for 155, and the Studio21 Architects Racing Team is raring to go! Drive for 155 is a four-hour endurance karting race, where each team fundraises in the weeks before the event to hopefully gain a very special advantage at the starting line; we are up against some heavy hitters this year, so a donation to our team, and of course the ​​

incredibly important work that DuPage PADS does for our community, would mean the world! You can click the button below to make a donation to help support DuPage PADS in their mission:

Make a Donation

​As you read in this issue’s Note From Bill, our fearless leader will not be racing this year, and while he certainly will not be happy to do it, Bill will be cheering on his team from the sidelines. While past Drive for 155 races have been held in July, this year the event has moved up to Saturday, June 14th—rain or shine! With Bill acting as sideline race coach this year, we are happy to invite everyone who’d like to watch some racing to join us. Just reach out to Bill or Emma to get the info! ​​

---

Written By: Emma H. 

Emma works as the Marketing Manager for Studio21 Architects. She is the writer behind (almost) all of our newsletter articles, and she works hard to make sure all of our marketing materials reflect an architect-approved design quality!