A surprise visitor brought good news to local father of seven and U.S. Air National Guard veteran Robert Kish.
“One day the doorbell rang and my son said, ‘Hey, you better answer the door,’” Mr. Kish said.
Andrew Kish, a 20-something journalism student at Bowling Green State University, had entered his father, Robert, into a selection for a free new roof, put on by Freedom Roofing, Windows and Siding LLC.
“So I heard about the Freedom Roofing Project through a Facebook post,” Mr. Kish’s middle son said, talking about an application and essay he wrote for the entry back in spring of this year.
“I did not think that he would have been chosen, because it was on social media and there were hundreds of likes and comments on the post,” Andrew Kish said.
But Facebook came through for the Kish family.
“I was in complete shock,” Mr. Kish said. “I didn't know what to say at first.”
For about four years Mr. Kish knew the roof, over a couple decades old, needed to be replaced. Unfortunately a number of Mr. Kish’s children were working through various health problems, which complicated finances.
“Coming from a large family, we have to prioritize what money is spent on,” Mr. Kish’s son said.
Freedom Roofing allowed Mr. Kish to prioritize his family by giving him a new roof, which the company installed on his home in Perrysburg Tuesday.
“We just kept wanting to do bigger and bigger and bigger things to help people out,” said Brady Donnell, the owner of Freedom Roofing, who is a veteran himself.
Mr. Donnell joined the Ohio Army National Guard, and went to Afghanistan as an infantry officer. A noncombat injury pulled Mr. Donnell out of the fighting, but men he worked with died shortly after he sustained his injury.
“Typically, when you get out of the military, you tend to get forgot about,” said Zach Bermejo, the senior project manager for Freedom Roofing and a veteran who served as a logistics coordinator for the Army.
In light of the mental and physical health difficulties veterans face stateside, Mr. Donnell is focused on helping out fellow veterans when he comes across them.
“Another tenet of the military is ‘Never leave a fallen comrade,’” Mr. Donnell said, and clarified his company wants to have a community wide positive impact, including, but not limited to, veterans.
“Hopefully it will inspire others to give back in any way they can to those in need,” he said. “It can be something as simple as shoveling your neighbor's driveway in the wintertime.”
Freedom Roofing selected the recipient of the roof based on financial need and the essay submitted by Mr. Kish’s son. Owens Corning in coordination with Purple Heart Homes agreed to reimburse the cost of the materials to Mr. Donnell’s company.
“We're doing another one in October,” Mr. Donnell said, and wanted people to know they have not selected the veteran yet to receive a roof.
People can apply at FreedomRWS.com .
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