FRANKFORT, Ill. — Ridgeworth Roofing Co. of Frankfort recently donated its services to help a nonprofit that welcomes families with a comfortable, friendly place to stay when their children have medical procedures.

In May, Ridgeworth partnered with Bennett & Brosseau Roofing in Romeoville to help the Ronald McDonald House near Loyola University Medical Center in Hines,Ill.

Rod Petrick, Ridgeworth Roofing’s president and owner, said that Bennett & Brosseau’s team worked on the steep slope repairs while his company handled the reroofing of the house’s four-story flat roof section. Additionally, it also did a skylight restoration that included a cleaning, a replacement of edge sealant and a solvent-based silicone coating that resulted in a new weathering surface.

Petrick said that his company became involved with this project by being a member of the Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress. This organization is a Rosemont, Ill.-based collective forum of roofing contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and industry professionals who select and provide oversight of programs and funding for progressive research that contributes to the ongoing advancement of the roofing industry. 

Petrick, the Alliance’s president, is also the lead person for the Ronald McDonald House project. Through his work with alliance and non-alliance members, he reported that more than half of these houses have been sponsored by contractors who are willing to donate their work.

“There are 184 Ronald McDonald Houses in North America,” he said. “Moving forward, I, as the alliance president, put the challenge to our members that we get all 184 houses sponsored by the next alliance meeting coming up this November.”

Charles Antis, CEO and founder of Antis Roofing and Waterproofing in Irvine, Calif. and NCRA member, is the original founder of the Ronald McDonald House Charities initiative. He is proud and appreciative of Petrick’s work.

“I love Rod. He’s a strong leader, plus he’s got a big heart.” Antis said. “He envisions safe and dry Ronald McDonald House rooms available for all families with sick kids across this country. It’s an honor to sit with him, strategizing to lift our roofing industry, and all of our communities, coast to coast.”

Giving back to assist charities is an idea ingrained in Petrick by his late father Robert, Ridgeworth Roofing’s original president and owner.

“We have been giving back to nonprofit organizations for years,” Rod Petrick said. “Working on the Ronald McDonald House near Loyola was a very good opportunity to put our best foot forward and do something that will, in turn, help other families for many years. They will be able to utilize this facility and don’t have to worry about lodging. When our group of men worked on this project, I found out that one of my guys, before he worked for us, utilized a Ronald McDonald House when his child was sick.”

The project is just one of many whereby those in the roofing industry donate services, products, and more to nonprofits. 

Other examples featured recently by Roofing Contractor include: