4 community reroofing programs

By Emma Peterson. 

Around the country, communities and roofers are coming together to protect their neighbors from the elements.  

A roof is a crucial part of protecting your home and family from the elements, but is also an expensive investment, one that can be out of reach for many people. Luckily, there are programs across the country that connect families and individuals in need with local roofing companies that donate time and materials to make sure they are safe and sound. Here are four examples of how roofers and their communities have rallied together to help their neighbors get new roofs.  

1 – Operation Roof Rescue  

In Kearns, Utah, a single mother of four was surprised with a new roof thanks to Operation Roof Rescue! Run by 103.5 The Arrow, this program worked with Olympus Roofing to surprise Star Weber and her household, which includes her disabled, veteran father, with a brand-new roof. 

The Arrow team had heard that the Weber’s family roof had been leaking for months and that the situation was becoming even more concerning as the winter months approached. Pepper Websterm, Star’s best friend shared, “She’s a single mom who’s helping her father, who’s a veteran, and she takes care of him. They just have a really bad situation with a roof. And, you know, they could really use the help.” 

As for Star, she couldn’t believe it, telling KSL TV 5, “This is a complete shock. This is a lifesaver. I was really worried about going into the winter months with a leaky roof.” 

2 – Hometown Heroes 

Over in Wisconsin, American Quality Homes was able to rally their community together to support one of their Hometown Heroes, Keith Schmidt. Keith’s career began with serving in the U.S. Army before he had an in-service transfer to the Marine Corps. He explained to WeAreGreenBay.com, “I went through boot camp again, and I went through infantry training school at Camp Pendleton in California, where I was trained as a machine gunner on the 0331 machine gun.” Eventually, he found himself serving at the Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., which led to him finishing his career as part of the Presidential Honor Guard. 

When American Quality Homes heard that this incredible, local veteran’s roof was destroyed in a tornado, they quickly gathered the community support needed to provide Keith with a free reroof. Keith couldn’t be more thankful, saying, “I’ve got a broken back and it’s made life difficult... I used to roof — and it’s not like I can roof anymore. Being a guy that used to roof dairy barns, I appreciate what I’ve seen [and what this community has done].” 

3 – Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project 

For the third program we’re covering in this article, we wanted to highlight a program from our friends over at Owens Corning, called the Roof Deployment Project. Through this program, Owens Corning works with Habitat for Humanity and local contractors around the country to provide free roof replacements for military veterans in need.  

An example of this program in action was when the home of U.S. Army veteran Jerry Himes and his wife Vania Eustis, was reroofed earlier this year in Florida. Jerry and Vania’s roof had been struggling for years with leaks popping up every hurricane season. But the couple didn't know how they were going to afford the repairs.  

That was until they got the call from Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter that Owens Corning was donating materials for a new roof and that local, third-generation owned Scott’s Roofing was providing the labor for free! Vania shared some thoughts on the incredible gift with Omne, saying, “It will mean no water leaks. We’ve had a few of those, so it will be great to know we don’t have to listen for where the next drip is at.” 

And this is not the first time Scott’s Roofing has donated time and labor to this program. Tyler Scott, owner of Scott’s Roofing, shared, “Giving back to the veterans that gave to us, and to our community, that’s even bigger. There are so many people that need help.” 

4 – Operation Rooftop  

For our last story of reroofing programs today, we wanted to highlight Operation Rooftop! This is a partnership between TAMKO Building Products and the Kansas City Chiefs that identifies a veteran in the Kansas City metro area and awards them a new roof for free. Brian Borgard of TAMKO explained to KMBC News, “[We just want] to give back to the folks who have given so much to us. We're extremely proud to be able to do this. It highlights what the veterans do [and] gives them a hand up to let them know how proud of them we are and how thankful of them we are.” 

Last year’s recipient of this free roof was a Marine veteran in Blue Springs. For them and their family, the gift came at a crucial time and they couldn’t be more thankful.