Raise the Roof
May 11, 2011 at 8:47 AM
It’s day two and the roof was raised! So, raise the roof: what is that? A passé urban phrase? A dance club move? Or the means to an end? Let’s take a look at some average costs of living in Springfield and then make a call.
Have you ever heard about how hard it is for the middle class to keep up? Have you ever considered those numbers for the working class? Why don’t we try that for a minute: it will take approximately 300 seconds of your time to read this post and I guarantee you’ll walk away with a different perspective or a new statistic learned.
Let’s think for a minute about how rough this winter was for all of us. Even people of solid means are still paying off the price of basement leaks, roof repairs and driveway revamps. Now, imagine your life in a different scenario. Imagine that you and your spouse are making a combined income of $36,235—because that’s the average median income in Springfield. The average rent is about $11,400 per year. For families the average heat cost is about $3,500 per year. The average health insurance cost is about $7,200 per year. The average cost to feed a family of nine (one of our families) is $16,500. So guess what? Before we’ve even been able to tabulate the costs of doctor co-pays, car payments, car insurance, gas, student loans, credit card debt, child care, clothing, holiday and birthday gifts, philanthropic donations or anything else you might need to be a part of mainstream American culture we are already in the red. And we haven’t even addressed income or property taxes.
How again, are we expecting these families to break out of this cycle?
That is why Habitat for Humanity does this work. That is why companies like mine recognize the need for public and private collaborations. We simply cannot expect folks to pick themselves up by their bootstraps—certainly not entire cities in need.
You should feel what it is like to be a part of this build. Walter Tomala of TNT General Contracting, the lead project manager on this build told me today that this work is life-altering. And it is. Neighborhood families—themselves in the red—dropped off pizzas for the volunteer workers today because they get how critical this work is to raising the roof in their own neighborhood whether their home is being renovated or not.
You can’t imagine what it feels like to be a part of this project until you join the team. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. We need volunteers still. Call Nicole at 739-5503 if you can volunteer even an hour or two of your time. The shell of the duplex will be done by Friday, but the entire construction will take a year to complete.
Come, join us, and raise the roof: I promise you won’t regret it.
Korri Piper
With 10 years of brand building experience, Korri joined The Pecoy Companies in the summer of 2010 to provide strategic direction and implementation of marketing initiatives for the rapidly growing home building and remodeling business. As Marketing Manager, Korri enjoys promoting The Pecoy Companies distinctive ability to create homes perfectly tailored to their owners and is proud of her company’s commitment to corporate philanthropy.
