Constructing Hope with Chris Rapczynski
The founder and president of Sleeping Dog Properties is Building Better Communities Through Build Health International Partnerships and Boston Area Charitable Initiatives.
Chris Rapczynski, founder and president of Sleeping Dog Properties, has built a successful construction business in Boston over the past three decades. While his company is known for high-end residential and commercial projects, Rapczynski has also devoted considerable time and resources to philanthropic work that often flies under the radar.
Partnership with Build Health International
One of Rapczynski’s primary philanthropic commitments is his work with Build Health International (BHI), an organization focused on developing healthcare infrastructure in underserved communities. His connection to healthcare causes has personal significance as his wife works as a nurse.
“My wife’s a nurse, and I’m a big fan of philanthropy,” Rapczynski explained in an interview. He discovered Build Health International through its founder, a former construction industry leader: “Build Health International is a charity that a person that I know who was the founder of Shawmut Construction, which is a billion dollar company, he retired from that company and founded Build Health.”
The organization tackles critical healthcare needs in developing regions, with a particular focus on Haiti following the devastating earthquakes. Rapczynski describes their mission: “Build Health does their mission is to eradicate poverty through setting in place healthcare infrastructure which offers dignity to the people in a very fundamental way.”
Before BHI’s involvement in Haiti, pregnant women in remote mountain areas faced dangerous conditions. “Before their inclusion, some of these women were up in the mountains in a dirt floor, wood, thin panel walls with a metal roof waiting to have their babies in a non-sterilized environment,” Rapczynski notes. In response, “Build Health went there and built a dormitory for these women to come down from the mountain to stay in while they’re waiting for birth, and then they would help them with the hospital.”
Practical Contributions
Rapczynski’s support for BHI extends beyond financial donations to include practical assistance that leverages his construction expertise. “My involvement has been satisfying because I do some interesting things. I fix their tools that get broken, I give donations of money,” he explains.
One notable contribution addressed a basic but crucial need: “I gave them a big donation of, I think it was 3,000 water bottles.” While these insulated containers might seem ordinary in the United States, they serve an essential purpose in communities without safe drinking water.
“If you think about the problems that they have there, potable travel water, they don’t have bottles of water. They drink from the streams that have dysentery and problems in it,” Rapczynski explains. The economic reality makes such items inaccessible to locals: “A day’s work there might be $20 for a day’s worth of work. So they would never buy a water bottle for eight hours worth of work.”
The donated water bottles carried Sleeping Dog Properties branding: “We just donated a bunch with our logo on it and our color, and then they send us pictures with it all on it and stuff.”
What Rapczynski particularly values about his involvement with BHI is the hands-on nature of the contribution. Unlike other charitable giving that might feel distant, he says, “Sometimes you can just write a check to a charity, but I get to go to the facility and see the people, and I find that really rewarding.”
Local Community Involvement
Beyond his international philanthropic work, Rapczynski maintains strong ties to local community organizations. One of his longest-standing commitments is coaching youth soccer with the Andover Soccer Association in his hometown.
This volunteer role requires significant time investment: “I coach about 15 to 20 hours a week during the seasons that they are, which is a job honestly. But my schedule’s flexible enough that I can do that.”
What began as a way to support his children’s activities has evolved into a long-term commitment: “Originally, it was simply because I wanted my kids to do it, to encourage them to do it. That’s not why I persist in doing it.”
Instead, Rapczynski continues coaching because he values the opportunity to foster healthy activities for young people: “One of the things I feel like the balance of a healthy lifestyle and is the balance of mine is a organized free play, team play is a different landscape than school or just computers. It’s a place where they can go and have fun.”
The coaching experience also taps into his organizational skills: “Within me, the competitive nature of me as a person, I love organizing these kids into a team to win something or play something. I do that at work all the time.”
This involvement provides multiple benefits, including strengthening family connections: “My benefit is I get to see the interpersonal relationships of all my children’s friends.” Over time, soccer has become “a big part of our family weekends and lives,” with his children developing their skills through his coaching.
Supporting Regional Charities
Rapczynski contributes to several other charitable causes in New England. He supports Music Drives Us, a foundation established by local businessman Ernie Boch Jr. that provides music education in schools. As Rapczynski describes it, “He gives to school systems to help learning opportunities for music into the school systems.”
He also participates in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a charity bike ride that raises funds for breast cancer research. These various charitable commitments reflect his belief that “giving back should be part of the balance of the responsibilities of a corporation and individuals.”
A Broader View of Success
Rapczynski’s philanthropic efforts align with his view that success isn’t measured solely in business achievements. According to sources, he believes that “success is not just measured in buildings constructed or profits earned but in the positive impact one makes on the lives of others.”
His dedication to making a difference has been recognized along with his professional accomplishments. He has received accolades from organizations, including the Boston Society of Architects and the Small Business Association of New England, acknowledgments that speak to both his construction expertise and community contributions.
The Personal Meaning of Philanthropy
For Rapczynski, philanthropy provides more than just the satisfaction of helping others—it offers a different kind of fulfillment than material consumption. He observes that as people gain financial security, they often follow a predictable pattern: “When you’re younger, maybe you don’t have the money to spend on extra things. And then when you go, as you get older you think, oh, I would like to have this or like to have that.”
However, he notes that material acquisitions often lose appeal: “You might buy some things indulgently, but at some point things run out of interactive energy or waning. I have a basement full of kids’ toys that they’ve grown out of and examples of the consumeristic mind.”
In contrast, philanthropic engagement provides lasting satisfaction: “In philanthropy, the thing that I enjoy just in general about it is that it’s an opportunity to enhance your interests at a different level.”
Despite the satisfaction, Rapczynski remains aware of the scope of the need: “I always feel like it’s a never-ending need. So I always feel like I can’t do enough, but I give to a variety of other charities as well.”
A Commitment to Continue
As Sleeping Dog Properties continues its fourth decade of operation, philanthropic work remains an integral part of Rapczynski’s vision. His approach to giving—practical, hands-on, and leveraging his specific expertise—mirrors the qualities that have made his construction company successful.
While luxury residential and commercial projects may form the core of Sleeping Dog Properties’ business portfolio, Rapczynski’s philanthropic commitments reveal another dimension of his legacy—one built on using construction knowledge and resources to improve lives both locally and globally.
Through organizations like Build Health International, youth sports coaching, and support for regional causes, Chris Rapczynski demonstrates how business success can translate into meaningful community impact, bridging the worlds of luxury construction and humanitarian needs with the same attention to quality and detail.