Giving Back
“This man spent his life in service, rescuing others in his community. Now the community should come to his rescue,” she said.
She talked to her crews of roofers and carpenters who agreed to donate their labor. She went to her suppliers, RIS of Cumming, B & M of Murryville, Ace Hardware of Social Circle, GA Container of Atlanta, who provided the necessary supplies and materials to do the job correctly.
Laura’s business has continued to thrive, and feeling blessed she is called to give back. She hopes her business can “come to the rescue” quarterly of someone in the community in need of their service. Her crew decided to volunteer their service, but to fund the materials and supplies for the next project, she held a garage sale.
Using facebook she asked for donations for the sale from friends of friends and was overwhelmed at the response. They ran into an obstacle when they were informed Hall County required a $300 permit, and would also tax their proceeds because they were holding it at a local business. To avoid that, she moved the sale to her home which is not on a thoroughfare, so she feared the turnout wouldn’t be good. Captured to Canvas of Gainesville donated a large banner announcing the event, and social media managed to get the word out.
Last weekend the event, a backyard carnival and yard sale featured a bouncing inflatable, donated by Michelle Welch, who read about the event on facebook, and carnival games made by teenaged friends of her son, Ethan Kent. The DJ from C & M in Clarkesville brought prizes. Logo Express in Commerce also read about the event on facebook and provided event t shirts for Laura and her crew. Friends of her son provided face painting, and other young men arrived with trailers to haul all the goods-for-sale from storage to the driveway. The weather was perfect!
The biggest surprise was when a DJ from 104.7 THE FISH Radio in Atlanta showed up to present her with a check for the amount of her goal. So with the proceeds plus this check they have enough money to do the roof and the fascia and a few needed exterior carpentry repairs on this large project, for which Double D Dumpster has donated their equipment. They now have enough money left for another smaller donated project for the summer quarter.
Laura, who grew up in a Scouting family, was in Girl Scouts from first grade through twelve and steeped in community service.
“It’s in my blood, I guess,” she says humbly. Our communities are blessed when people choose to give back. Thank you to all of them who enrich our lives. I’m especially proud of Laura Webb. She’s my youngest daughter.