Construction company repairs elderly woman’s home for free
December 2, 2014
When Margaret McMillan called Alford Home Solutions about her flooded basement, she had no idea the gift she would receive.
Margaret McMillan, 82, was the first ever recipient of Alford Home Solutions’ community program Project Give Back 2014. Partnered with Appalachian Roofing Company, 84 Lumber Company, American Roofing Company and Teays Valley Heating and Cooling, the program donated materials and labor to fix McMillan’s aging home.
These companies were able to provide McMillan with free basement water-proofing, a new roof, new siding, a metal awning, a privacy fence, landscaping, and heating and cooling services.
McMillan has a bachelor’s degree in art and psychology and a master’s degree in communication arts from Marshall University. She has lived in numerous states and countries working in the fields of journalism and art. McMillan has been a painter for many years.
“I come from a very country background, and I felt like I needed to learn to get along in this world,” McMillan said. “I have never gotten anything in this world without working for it. My mother always told me if you want something, you must go out and earn it.”
Her decision to call Alford Home Solutions rose out of her desire to fix her damaged home. Her basement was flooded with over 4 ft. of water, and McMillan said it was worse than the “before” photo in their newspaper advertisement. When the company salesmen arrived to do the estimate, she began to share her story with them.
“I hired a neighbor’s handyman to do some work for me,” McMillan said. “He worked for about a day and a half, and all I wanted him to do was clean up the backyard. He got my car started for me, took it for a test drive, and never came back. He not only stole the car, but he stole my cell phone and my television- all while I was in the house. I could not believe someone would just steal from me like that.”
McMillian said she has chosen to mentally leave that occurrence in the past, but it was not the last hardship she had to deal with concerning the home.
“I have to laugh about it these days to keep from crying about it,” McMillian said. “I went out of town to be with my daughter in Florida, and allowed my house to be rented out while I was gone. When I returned, I could not get them to leave, and found that they had destroyed certain parts of my home. I eventually had to call the police to get them out of here.”
Tony Alford, owner of Alford Home Solutions, said after the executives heard this story, the company decided not only to give her a free estimate, but also would not charge her for anything in the process.
Alford Home Solutions placed a call to Appalachian Roofing Company and told them about the basement waterproofing they were going to install, but needed another company to help with the roofing problems, according to a press release. Appalachian Roofing Company was immediately on board, and obtained donations from 84 Lumber Company and American Roofing Company.
“When we saw all the water in the basement, and saw that she had been without hot water, we decided it’s time we do something,” Alford said. “We paired up with the roofing guys, and they said they would put up a new roof on her house and back porch. We wish we could help more, because it’s obvious she needs much more than we can provide for her.”
Alford Home Solutions asked their construction employees if they would be willing to do this work for her without pay, and several agreed to volunteer on Nov. 22 and subsequent dates.
Alford Home Solutions was built on honesty, family, values, faith and hard work in order to perform outstanding customer service inside and out, and decided to prove that with this year’s Project Give Back 2014, according to a press release.
McMillian said she was also pleased to find out that because of her, Alford Home Solutions will be doing this community give back project every year.
“I just cannot be grateful enough,” McMillan said. “It just boggles my mind that someone would do this for me. I am pleased and impressed at how hard they are working. When I was a kid, we never celebrated Christmas, so this is the best Christmas I have ever had.”
Kelly Pate can be contacted at pate20@ marshall.edu.
Nate McGinn • Aug 7, 2019 at 6:46 am
It’s amazing that this company was willing to serve this woman for free. It is really good to know that there are still so many good and selfless people out there. This is definitely one project that seems like it would be a lot of work, but it would be well worth it in the long run. I wonder how long it took them to complete a project like this.
https://roofers-edmonton.ca/
Benoit Gosselin • Jan 8, 2017 at 3:57 pm
What a wonderful and positive story! Companies should not be there only to make a profit, but also make a difference in the community. As a roofing contractor in Edmonton, I have encountered several customers who share their stories of past renovation contractors, mostly negative. Some will ask for a deposit and never show up to work; others would steal, like what happened to Margaret McMillan. The world would be a better place if there were more stories like hers, and I hope the news will have similar nice stories in the future.
http://saferoofing.ca
Cal Driver • Feb 9, 2016 at 6:51 pm
This was a great story to read. I love companies that take some responsibility for local citizens. I’ve seen restaurants host birthday parties for senior citizens and movie theaters hold premieres for special needs individuals, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a roofing company stepping up and helping an individual like this. Roofing is such a stress, I doubt anyone would’ve helped Ms. McMillan if the company hadn’t. Thanks for sharing!
http://alfsroofing.com/
Jonathan Pound • Oct 26, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Wow, that was really nice of this organization to give back to Margaret McMillan. It’s really nice that they replaced her roof as well. Your roof does a lot to help protect your home from the elements. I love hearing stories like this where the community and businesses come together. http://spencerroofingandsiding.com/roofing/3601695
Emily • Oct 14, 2015 at 4:48 pm
Kelly, it is so kind of these companies to fix up this woman’s house. This probably meant a great deal to this woman and saved her a lot of money. The repairs they did are expensive ones! Now she has a roof that doesn’t leak and a dry basement!
Douglas Brown • Oct 12, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Construction companies always seem to get a bad rap, especially when they have to do projects during high traffic seasons. I can’t think of a better way to get people on their side than to help out an elderly woman for free! This is a great story and I am so glad that you shared it with us. Wish I could have been there to help out!
Jason Strong • Sep 14, 2015 at 3:33 pm
It’s so cool to see how people take their companies and use them to help people like this. When you see things like this it give people hope that there are still good people in this world. I’m grateful for these services and all that they do to help us out.
Owen Camden • Sep 11, 2015 at 4:14 pm
It is so nice that this company was willing to serve this woman for free. It is really good to know that there are still so many good and selfless people out there. This is definitely one project that seems like it would be a lot of work, but it would be well worth it in the long run. I wonder how long it took them to complete a project like this.
Callie Marie • Jul 31, 2015 at 3:09 pm
It is really cool that those roofing and lumbar companies were willing to donate their materials and labor to a good cause. I bet they made Margaret McMillan a very happy lady! Selfishly, I wish I had been lucky enough to get free services when my basement flooded.
Sara Killinger • Jul 13, 2015 at 4:01 pm
What a truly wonderful story. Having previously dealt with a flooded basement, I know first hand how difficult it can be. When people make an effort to help each other out like this, my faith in humanity is restored a bit. It’s great to know that people are willing to do what they can to help each other. I’ll try my best to help others whenever I get the opportunity.
Johnny • May 27, 2015 at 7:40 pm
This was really inspiring to read. It is good to know that there are good people out there who do as much as they can to help others. That is the kind of person that I want to be as well. There are lots of opportunities to do good everyday.