Hearts & Hammers & Graham
Putting their hearts and hammers to work, over 25 Minneapolis branch employees recently volunteered, for the first time, at the national Hearts & Hammers Program Day, providing exterior painting and home improvement assistance to elderly and physically disabled homeowners so they may continue to live independently.
"I was so excited to see so many Graham employees participate in this event," says Marcia Malinowski, Business Development Coordinator. "We're lucky to work in an industry where there are so many people with special talents to complete this type of project. Everyone put 100 percent into this project from start to finish."
Teaming up with a local engineering and architectural firm, Graham volunteers spent a day performing exterior home repairs at no cost to the homeowner. Donating the materials to complete all the work, volunteers installed exterior doors, painted the entire house and trim, completed roof repairs, yard cleaning and landscaping. At the end of the day, the home was completely weatherproof, safe and secure.
Hearts & Hammers organizes teams of volunteers and provides them with the necessary leadership, expertise, resources and materials to complete repairs for homeowners across the U.S. Volunteers are mobilized on two scheduled Program Days, one in the spring and one in the fall.
"We had gotten away from volunteering for the past couple of years and were looking to align with a non-profit organization so we could give back to our community," says Dave Lenss, District Manager, Minneapolis. "This was a perfect opportunity for us. We have the means, the manpower and the desire to do the work at hand. I think it's safe to say we will commit to this event next year and beyond."
