Just got a comment from Florio, a team leader from Desi’s Roofing who is installing the replacement roof today.
As you may have read/watched, this was previously done in 2002 by the Leslie Family and friends. Our “Roof-o-Rama”!
Frankly, the shingles used, were not to the quality the company guaranteed them for. That company went out of business 10 years ago, about the time the shingles started looking like they were in rough shape. Today, Florio commented that the shingles on the roof now, are not falling off. They are disintegrating. The reason they have continued to protect my house from leaks? They were well installed.
Now, Tom Racz, one of the Leslie clan, had experience in roofing. The Leslie family had done another roof as a community project. But they are not roofers. What they are? People, a family who understand the importance of doing things well.
So often when someone donates items to a charity, or to “Goodwill”, they are items that are no longer useful. They are pretty much worn out. Faded. No longer of strong service. The person getting rid of them doesn’t want to throw them in the garbage, so they give themselves a pat on the back, saying “I’ll give them to charity”. Charity doesn’t mean shabby though.
Sure, there are people who would be grateful to have a pair of worn shoes given to them. Or a shirt that has faded, but still provides warmth. I’m not saying don’t gift them those items. I am saying, put yourself in their shoes. I know you can’t ever really know what that is like, but consider it. Would you wear a pair of pants with a big stain? Maybe. Does the person have the tools to take out that stain? Probably not.
I recall many years ago, when I was a junior salesperson at Telemedia Procom, selling advertising for Canadian Living Magazine. There was a food drive for the holidays, and our boss John Bates was encouraging us to donate items. We all walked over to a small grocery store to purchase items. I remember watching as Randy Craig, a more senior salesperson (who made more money than I did), picked up a can of lobster and said, “they probably don’t get many of these donated,” as he tucked it into his shopping cart.
My reaction was practically horrified. Why would he buy something that cost $7.00 when he could buy 7 packages of Kraft Dinner? The thing is… he didn’t just put that in his basket, he continued shopping, thoughtfully adding practical items like the rest of our team. Spaghetti Sauce and pasta, soap, canned goods.
During the heavy caregiving years with my special needs children, every month our expenses were about $5-$8000 more than our income. We were not poor. We just were doing everything to keep our kids alive. We were blessed with organizations like NABS and fundraisers and friends, family and colleagues who all helped to make things work. We also continuously borrowed from the equity of our sturdy little house which was thankfully purchased in a neighbourhood whose property values kept going up.
So I don’t know what it is like to receive food bank items. I do know what it is like to receive charity. A lot of it. People who are thoughtful about their donation, make a difference. Even if it means dusting off the item or washing it, before regifting.
In the original reason I started writing this… the roof,… the Leslie family didn’t know that the shingles would wear out and the business wouldn’t replace them for the 20 year warranty. But today I am told that the crumbling tiles stayed on, because they were put on VERY well. They weren’t intact, but they still did the job. It didn’t look great, but it still kept out the water. The Leslie clan and our other helpers could have just zipped through to get things done, but they didn’t. They paid attention to the detail… and it gifted me about 5 years time to save up for the new roof. 5 years of DRY time.
Thank you to the Leslie family. For paying attention to detail, and the difference you make.
About our new roof