Reveles and his family have been attending the church for 15 years and noticed the roof was in poor condition. He said he learned that around 10 years ago, the church turned to its neighbor — the GAF plant located across the street — and asked for assistance.

The plant requested help from a local contractor, but the plans fell through since the contractor didn’t wish to donate their time. The roof continued to deteriorate to the point that, last year, church members noticed a troublesome leak.

“I was there attending mass one Sunday and the deacon asked me if I could help him out with anything,” Reveles said.

Fast forward to the 2020 International Roofing Expo — held in Dallas — where Reveles was in attendance. While at the GAF booth, he ran into Jeff Terry, GAF’s vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Reveles told Terry about the church’s plight, and with his assistance, coordinated an agreement with the GAF plant in Dallas.

GAF agreed to supply the materials for the project as long as Reveles, a GAF Certified contractor, was willing to provide the labor, meaning the church wouldn’t pay a dime.

“It’s a worthy cause, a good cause, to help an organization that needed it,” Reveles said.

Given that roofing is considered essential in Dallas during the pandemic, Reveles Roofing didn’t run into any issues taking on the project. In fact, the pandemic allowed for the roofing contractor to complete the project in two days, which included removing two layers of shingles and reinforcing the area causing the leaks, all while practicing social distancing.

“Unfortunately for the community we’re not able to attend mass as we regularly do, but that gave us the time with nobody on the ground to go ahead and take care of it,” Reveles said. “I think everything just happened at the right time.”

The project aligns with GAF’s initiative launched earlier this year, GAF Community Matters, which is committing more than $6 million in financial aid and in-kind donations to help communities across the country.

“GAF is committed to protecting what matters most, not only through our products, but as neighbors and partners in the communities where we live and work,” said Jim Schnepper, president of GAF, in a written statement.