Contractors Doing Good: Part 3

Lending a Hand to Help Their Neighbors

Angie Lewis, Writer
Reading Time: 7 minutes
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Many roofing contractors don’t just do the jobs they get paid for — they also go above and beyond to help their communities, such as volunteering to install roofs or complete other free home improvement services for those in need.

Whenever possible, Atlas Roofing partners with roofers and donates any necessary materials they need to get the job done.

Here are a few examples of the work some of these do-good contractors did in 2020 and 2021:

Sgt. Rob HollowaySgt. Rob Holloway waves to a crowd of well-wishers after being released from the hospital.(Photo credit: Twitter - @dougevansfox5)

Divine Intervention

Alpha Roofing Construction (Temple, GA)

In the early morning hours of April 12, 2021, everything changed for Carrollton, GA, residents Stephanie Holloway and her son, Grady. They got the call every family of first responders dreads — her husband and Grady’s dad, Rob, a sergeant with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, had been injured in the line of duty.

Sgt. Holloway was participating in a high-speed chase of two armed suspects when he was struck by their gunfire. While he was able to continue the pursuit, he eventually crashed his vehicle into a utility pole due to his injuries. He spent more than three months in the hospital, which included cranioplasty surgery.

Shortly before Holloway was shot, Shayne Johnson, owner of Alpha Roofing Construction in the neighboring city of Temple, had created a Facebook post asking for suggestions of someone they could help in their community.

“I wanted to help because I have had success in life and business,” Johnson says. “We double in size every year and I’m grateful for what I have. After I saw the shooting and found out Tyler Boger knew the family (because he’d been on their roof the year prior), it was almost like fate telling me he was the person to give to.”

Johnson said he approached Atlas for the materials because of his good relationship with Brinson Jones, the Atlas sales representative for South Metro Atlanta.

“I am the No. 2 installer in the state currently and honestly love the material,” he says. “I only install Atlas unless a customer asks for something different.

“I’ve been to the plant in [Hampton] a few times. I like the R&D (research and development). Atlas has a great warranty and product I feel that I can stand behind. Even though I can install a lesser material and make more money, I’d rather install a quality product.”

Donated Atlas products included:

Outdoor kitchen - 2021 St. Jude Dream Home, Memphis, TNOutdoor kitchen - 2021 St. Jude Dream Home, Memphis, TN 

Curing Cancer

Southern Serenity Homes (Memphis, TN)

For the past 14 years, Southern Serenity Homes has been the exclusive builder of the St. Jude Dream Home in Memphis, TN.

The St. Jude Dream Home is annual giveaway that takes place in 45 cities across the country to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. People pay $100 per ticket for a chance to win one of the homes, as well as one of many of other high-valued prizes, such as cars and season tickets for local sports teams.

This year, the Memphis/Mid-South market raised $1.6 million, selling out of 16,000 tickets in less than 30 days — the fastest ever in the campaign’s history — and every cent goes directly to St. Jude.

“Over 14 years, I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve met at St. Jude that were told they would never walk again, they were told they would never see again... and here they were walking and running and seeing, where all the other doctors gave them no chance,” says Greg Bridgers, owner of Southern Serenity Homes. “You see it on TV, but you really don’t believe it. It sounds too good to be true that no child that goes to St. Jude pays a single penny.”

As of this year, Southern Serenity Homes has raised over the $20 million for St. Jude.

“I suspect I will probably die being a St. Jude Dream Home builder,” Bridgers says. “I can’t see me ever not doing it.”

Bridgers’ 2021 dream home, located in Lakeland, TN, was valued at $475,000.

“There are so many products in that house... No normal house of that caliber would have the amenities the St. Jude Dream Home does,” he says.

The 3,400-square-foot, French country-style home includes three bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, bonus room (via a secret passage), gourmet kitchen with Bosch appliances, outdoor kitchen and master bedroom with custom wood ceilings, three-car-garage and 20-seer Trane air conditioner, and boasts Brizo faucets, Shaw flooring and Hunter fans throughout. And it’s all topped with an Atlas roof.

“Eighty-five percent of what I do are custom homes, $750,000 up into the millions, and the reality of it is, GAF, Owens Corning — those guys kind of starting pricing themselves to where they were crazy, and the next thing you know, Atlas has got a better warranty, a better [algae] resistance policy... It’s just a better shingle all the way around,” Bridgers says. “I have a tremendous amount of my customers that have started switching over to Atlas.”

That’s why he approached Atlas for the project and why he says he’ll give Atlas the first right to participate in next year’s dream home too.

Donated Atlas products included:

Veteran’s Blessing

Tip Top Roofing and Siding (Chambersburg, PA)

In mid-October 2020, a homeowner contacted Tip Top Roofing for an estimate on his roof, which he did not believe would make it through the winter. While Eldo Helman, owner of Tip Top Roofing, prepared the estimate, the homeowner shared his story.

The Army veteran was living in North Carolina, receiving care for disabilities caused during his last tour of duty, when the pandemic hit. About a month into it, his elderly parents both fell ill. With his father’s illness being life threatening, he and his wife quickly packed up and moved north to Shippensburg, PA, to be with his mom and dad.

The home they purchased was not in the best shape, but it was all they could afford, and it was close to his parents’ care facilities.

Understanding how difficult and overwhelming it is to care for elderly parents, and knowing about Atlas Roofing’s donation program, Helman reached out to Robbie Fallick, his local Atlas sales representative, to see if the manufacturer could donate the materials.

“We love the ease of install, color options and [Scotchgard™ Protector],” Helman says. “It is a really amazing thing to offer our customers a shingle that will help prevent the staining and discoloration that their prior roof had.”

With the help of Atlas, ABC Supply in Hagerstown, MD, and Tip Top Roofing, which provided labor at cost, the veteran and his wife got the new roof they so desperately needed.

“This was important to us because we take a personal interest in each customer and want them to know they are more than just a roof install to us," Helman says. “They are neighbors, family and friends, and we want to help them protect their greatest investment.”

Donated Atlas products included:

Tip Top Roofing also donated the following Atlas materials: