ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Skywalker Roofing surprised a military veteran and his wife with a brand new roof, but the roofing contractor wasn’t going to stop at one.
Earlier this year, Skywalker Roofing participated in the nationwide No Roof Left Behind initiative, which provides deserving homeowners with a new roof. After selecting four finalists from the pool of nominees, the public voted for which of the four they felt deserved the free roof.
The winners were Jerry and Hilda Trent of Eden, N.C. Jerry, a U.S. Army Vietnam vet, has COPD from Agent Orange exposure. Due to his health issues, repairing their old and leaky roof was becoming more of an impossibility.
“They’re great people with bad problems and just need some help,” Skywalker Roofing Owner Luke Wilson told Fox-affiliate WHGP.
While it felt great to have a deserving winner selected, Wilson couldn’t help but think about the other No Roof Left Behind finalists, as they were just as deserving of some help. In a video, Wilson explained that he visited all four of the finalists and was touched by their stories.
“I just knew that there was no way I could not help all four of these people, I just couldn’t figure out a way, but I knew in my heart I was going to find a way to help all these people,” he said.
That’s when Skywalker Roofing received a call from Owens Corning to discuss participating in its National Roof Deployment Project. The national program has Owens Corning Roofing Platinum Contractors like Skywalker Roofing partner with Habitat for Humanity to provide veterans with new roofs.
Wilson agreed to install a roof for a veteran in Elkin, N.C. as part of the program, but was left wondering how he would help the No Roof Left Behind finalists. As the phone call progressed, the answer came in the form of the Purple Heart Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Wilson learned these foundations were helping with the Owens Corning project in Elkin, and when he mentioned that two of the four No Roof Left Behind finalists are veterans, the foundations helped provide enough funding to ensure all four finalists receive free roofs. This brought the total number of roofs Skywalker Roofing will install to five.
“They came out and said, “You know what, we can help those people out too,’” Wilson said. “Because of that, it gave me the ability to turn around and help the other people that I was just so concerned on how I was going to be able to help them.”
Installing the First of Four
On Wednesday, Skywalker Roofing partnered with Purple Heart Homes as well as Owens Corning to install the new roof on the Trent home.
According to a blog post from Skywalker Roofing: “We choose to go the extra mile for our NRLB winners by installing a complete roofing system with premium components from Owens Corning, ensuring that this is the last roof they’ll ever need.”
Not only did the 18 workers install a new roof, they helped clear out the Trent’s carport, cut trees and removed leaves from the yard.
In the same blog post, Wilson indicated he is far from done when it comes to giving back to others.
“No Roof Left Behind is a community effort that continues to touch me and change me,” Wilson said. “It’s reminded me that this is why I’m here — to help grow and sustain a successful business through Skywalker Roofing so that we’ll be in a position to help as many people as possible.”
