ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Roofing Alliance, the foundation of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), proudly celebrates roofing industry partners who have donated their time and expertise to work with Ronald McDonald House programs across the U.S. 

The foundation will be collecting stories of giving in recognition of the 165 roofs that have been adopted through the partnership between the Roofing Alliance and Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC).

At the Fall 2018 member meeting, then Roofing Alliance vice president, Rod Petrick, president of Ridgeworth Roofing in Frankfort, Ill., issued a challenge to all Roofing Alliance and NRCA members to adopt the remaining 53 roofs of the 165 stand-alone Ronald McDonald House programs throughout the U.S. The initiative to adopt all 165 Ronald McDonald House roofs started in April of 2017. The goal of adopting all 165 roofs was reached by June of 2019. On the 165th day of 2020, the Roofing Alliance will once again celebrate that accomplishment by having roofing industry partners share their stories.

“While purse strings are tight for everyone, we realize how big of an impact giving back can have for Ronald McDonald House programs," said Tommy Bullough of Wagner Roofing Company, Bethesda, Md. "We reached out to our House in the Greater D.C. area and learned they have an Amazon Wishlist. We purchased as much as we could off of their Amazon Wishlist to help in a small, but hopefully impactful way.”

The initiative has been embraced and grown larger due to roofing contractor, manufacturer and distributor partners not only watching and maintaining Ronald McDonald House roofs, but looking beyond for other ways to help. The initiative has had ripple effects with roofing companies and individuals taking an even closer look at how they can help their local Houses.

“To be honest, up until now, I was unaware that they even had an Amazon Wishlist set up,” said Bullough. “They update the list weekly with grocery needs. And until I’d dug around, I also hadn’t realized that without being able to utilize volunteers who typically come in to help prep meals, they are now also feeling the extra burden from having to purchase all of their daily meals for the guests in their houses, somewhere in the ballpark of $250/day, depending on the size of the House and the number of families being served. So, as you can imagine, every bit helps.”

Sharing Stories

The Roofing Alliance will be gathering stories like the Wagner Roofing Company story to share through traditional and social media channels. These stories will add to the rich history of this initiative of how the Roofing Alliance began working with RMHC by supporting their efforts to help families with critically ill children stay together and near the hospitals providing them medical care. The roofing industry saw the unique opportunity to support Ronald McDonald House programs, which provide private sleeping rooms, meals, and opportunities for families to interact with one another as they go through difficult times.

Through sponsorship funds and the adoption of the roofs of the 165 stand-alone Ronald McDonald House programs in the U.S., the Roofing Alliance has brought together roofing professionals and companies including contractors, manufacturers, distributors, media and service providers who donate their time and talents to provide regular roof system inspections, maintenance, repairs and/or replacements while also volunteering and donating financially.

At 172 members strong, the Roofing Alliance is a dedicated forum of roofing contractors, manufacturers, distributors, service providers and industry professionals who promote and fund the advancement of roofing through research, education, technology and philanthropic initiatives to help the roofing industry and their greater communities.

Charles Antis, CEO and founder of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing in Irvine, Calif., who is both a Roofing Alliance and NRCA member, initially brought the RMHC initiative to the Roofing Alliance’s attention.

“Together we envisioned that roofing contractors across the country would help keep Ronald McDonald House roofs safe and dry for families with sick children,” Antis said. “We are thrilled to help celebrate by sharing our stories and encouraging others to also share the amazing impact this initiative has had on their company and employees. We also want to show the pride of the roofing trade and how through this amazing network of roofing contractors, distributors and manufacturers, we are helping protect the roofs of 165 Ronald McDonald House programs. This continues to be an amazing opportunity for the roofing industry to give back on such a large scale.”

To share your RMHC roofing story, contact Bennett Judson, the Roofing Alliance’s executive director, at bjudson@roofingalliance.net.