CertaPro: Steps Up for Breast Cancer Research

CertaPro Painters continued its annual drive to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. This fall, one hundred people joined together for a 45 day campaign to step it up for breast cancer. The group collectively took 32,522,095 steps, exceeding the event organizers’ step and fundraising goals. More than $11,800 was raised for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Breast Cancer Society of Canada. The top 10 steppers accounted for 8,692,553 steps, nearly 27% of the total step number! Thanks and congrats to all who participated!    

Paul Davis: Bringing Teams Together to Support Hurricane Ida Victims

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida’s devastating blow to communities in Louisiana and Mississippi, Scott Brooks, Jake Wilson and Amelia Podojil sprang into action. The team organized a water donation drive to provide water to residents facing unimaginable conditions as a result of this monstrous storm.  

The team set an ambitious goal was to quickly fill one truck with 1,000 cases of water. As a result of the generosity of the Paul Davis corporate team, many Paul Davis Owners, FirstService sister Brands, and the Jacksonville Community, the team doubled its goal and delivered 2,654 cases of water to storm victims. Floor Coverings International stepped up and provided 450 cases, and Mickey McHenry of Paul Davis South Atlanta generously donated 300 cases.

As a result, hundreds of people impacted by Hurricane Ida will be able to drink, cook, and bathe with clean water.  Thank you to the Paul Davis team and everyone involved who showed what it means to #FirstServeOthers! 

The team at Paul Davis are experts at quickly mitigating the impacts of fire, floods and other disasters. In March of this year, the team worked with a beer distributor to deliver more than 1,300 cases of water to Houston-area residents impacted by the snow and ice storm. 

Floor Coverings International Helps Feed Needy Families

In March, 2020 Solidarity Sandy Springs was founded as a food pantry to provide assistance to families facing food insecurity during COVID shutdowns. Over time it has grown to also help provide school supplies for children. Support from the community has been inspiring, and today Solidarity Sandy Springs receives donations from schools, churches, synagogues and companies, as well as individuals. The support from the community has allowed the organization to obtain a van which is used to pick up donations throughout the community.

In August, the team at Floor Coverings International launched a donation drive to support Solidarity. The company hosted a potluck luncheon and encouraged team members to bring in donations for Solidarity Sandy Springs. The event generated more than four shopping carts filled with groceries and other essentials for families in need. 

Lee Smith of Floor Coverings International is joined by representatives from Solidarity Sandy Springs

Loading the truck with much needed food items for needy families

“Solidarity was THRILLED with our donations,” said Lee Smith, corporate bookkeeper at Floor Coverings International. “We are looking forward to hosting another donation drive to support this great organization in the future.”

For information on how you can help Solidarity Sandy Springs, please visit their website. 

Paul Davis: Bringing local businesses together to assist Texas snow and ice storm victims

In the wake of the February 2021 snow and ice storm that caused extensive damage and power loss in parts of Texas, Paul Davis’ Emergency Response Coordinator Scott Brooks felt like he needed to do something to help. Upon learning many residents had to boil snow for drinking water to survive, he decided to launch a water donation drive.

Scott quickly got to work making calls to Jacksonville, Florida-area news stations, churches, grocery stores and beer distributors. Before long, he was receiving water donations from companies including Winn-Dixie. He was also able to secure donated beer trucks from Champion Brands to deliver the water.

“Many of our teams were going to Texas to assist in restoration efforts. One of our serving basics is to help those in need, so organizing a water donation drive felt like the right thing to do,” said Scott.

Scott even received help from the Cajun Navy, a non-profit group of volunteers who deploy to disaster areas throughout the southern United States, to deliver the donated water.

In all, 1373 cases of water were delivered to Houston and Houston area residents.

The donation drive is just one proof point of how Scott embodies our Social Purpose. Each year he organizes a charity golf tournament to raise money and awareness for the National Fallen Firefighters Association. The 2021 event, which is in the active planning stages now, will be scheduled for the end of August or early September and will be held at Eagle Landing in Jacksonville.

LIV North: Donates Outdated Service Vehicles to Homeless Cars

When 14 of LIV North’s service vehicles commercial lives came to an end the leadership team knew they had a useful purpose for someone.

So the leadership team at LIV North coordinated a donation to Homeless Cars, a Canadian charitable foundation that accepts used vehicles and donates the proceeds of their sale to food banks and local food shelters. 

Read more  

California Closets: Transforms a multi-use space at transitional home in Phoenix

For  individuals or families facing a domestic crisis, a next step can be terrifying. So often, people feel paralyzed, not knowing where to turn for help. That’s where Mesa, AZ-based A New Leaf’s Autumn House program comes in.

The dated multi-purpose room lacked warmth and personality before the California Closets team arrived

The California Closets team transformed a dreary space into a warm, inviting area for residents to use

Before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the country – and world – California Closets of Phoenix assisted in transforming a multi-use space at Autumn House so that it could better serve its transitional residents.

Phoenix GM Janet Hutchinson and team were converted a social room into a warm, welcoming, and peaceful place for residents to go to for social and life skills activities. This area is used for residents to receive coaching on everything from high school GEDs and college diplomas to employment, healthy lifestyles, and adult self-sufficiency.

In addition, California Closets built out a beautiful new media center where a large screen TV, books, and reference materials could be stored. Hanging barn door sliders were added to conceal the television when not in use.

Autumn House has been providing safe shelter to the community for almost 40 years and was the East Valley’s first domestic violence shelter. It operates 24/7 in a confidential location, accepting survivors all times of the year.

“We are so proud to have been a part of this amazing project,” said Janet, “and to support men and women in our community who have been affected by domestic violence.”

 Janet and her team display what it truly means to design better lives, and bring California Closet’s CREDO to life. 

Poolman and All Florida Pools Provide Necessities to Homeless Citizens

During the recent holiday season, team members at Poolman and All Florida Pools came up with a novel way to make a difference for homeless members of their communities.  Technicians in Florida, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Texas and Las Vegas were given bags and backpacks containing essential supplies including personal hygiene items, socks, water and certain proteins for food. During their routes, they distributed these bags to homeless community members.

“I have always believed that it is better to Give… Give… Give… before you Get… Get… Get…! Having served on a board that serves the homeless population, I gained first hand knowledge of the critical state that this group lives in on a day-to-day basis,” said President, Residential Aquatics, Vic Valentine. “These are not just homeless people; they are sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers. What a better idea than to rally the troops and not only give to individuals in need, but also serve together for a greater purpose than ourselves. Serving the homeless is a great life lesson in humility as well!”

In total, 672 bags were distributed, making our homeless community members more comfortable and showing them that people care about their wellbeing.

TLS: Holiday “Cariboulation” Food Drive Exceeds Goals

TLS recently concluded its Caring Celebration, or “Holiday Cariboulation,” to collect food for local food banks.

The team TRIPLED its goal of donating 500 items —  collecting 2442 food items/dollar donations for local food banks. TLS generously matched that number and is donating $2,442 to a local food bank. When it came time to deliver the items, Santa himself, joined by his favorite “reindog,” helped distribute the donated food.

We’d like to thank everyone for their participation in this great cause. Now more than ever food banks need support and this is a wonderful way to #FirstServeOthers.

   

Paul Davis: Supporting Autism Awareness is a Family Affair

For Kali Freeland, supporting Autism awareness is personal. Kali’s cousin, Mandy Conner, founded Northeast Florida Advocates for Autism and Related Disabilities. Mandy started her organization to raise awareness and funds for families in NE Florida with Autism and Related Disabilities. Mandy’s daughter Katelyn loves riding in golf carts, which inspired Mandy’s idea to organize a Golf Cart Poker Run for Autism. 

Saturday, September 26th was the 7th Annual Katelyn’s Golf Cart Poker Run for Autism.  Participating golf carts visit 5 stops around the Pirates Woods area of Fernandina. Police blocked the streets for 173 participating golf carts this year! At each stop, participants would draw one poker card and compete for the best hand. All cards / scoresheets were safely collected, and the winner was announced at the end of the day.

The event raised $35,000 this great cause! 

“I am always proud to volunteer at this event with my family,” said Kali. “This year, I was proud to include Paul Davis slap bracelets in the event bags and represent our brand at this wonderful event!”

California Closets: Supporting Men of Valor and Helping Shape Better Futures

Following up on its 2018 involvement with Nashville-based Men of Valor’s Phase 1 housing build, California Closets of Tennessee recently completed the installation of 33 more closets in the Phase 2 building, Valor Ridge. This brings its total contribution to 93 new closets — with all materials and labor given free of charge. 

The new residential spaces at Valor Ridge will provide housing for participants in Men of Valor’s year-long prison aftercare and re-entry program. The recidivism rate (prisoners rearrested after release) in Tennessee is 51 percent. The recidivism rate for graduates of the Men of Valor program is less than 10 percent. 

“We are excited to continue to support the life-changing work of Men of Valor,” says CCTN Owner Kurt Schusterman. “California Closets of Tennessee is committed to looking for ways to give back to others who are making an impact in our community. Clearly, the Men of Valor team is doing just that. This was a team effort and is a great example of living out our company values.”

Additionally, Kurt and his team were thrilled to get the support of CC vendors to help make this possible, including DixiePly for wood product, Valendrawers for the drawers, Salice for the runners, and TAG hardware for poles and other hardware.

“As a faith-based nonprofit we are always grateful for donations,” said David Miller, Men of Valor’s Development Director. “We appreciate California Closets of Tennessee once again stepping forward to support our mission by donating closets for the second phase of housing at our Valor Ridge community.”