Each year the International Roofing Expo partners with Rebuilding Together to make critical home repairs for those in need.
As part of the 13th annual Community Service Day on Jan. 31, 2022—a day before the premier roofing and exteriors event at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (Feb. 1–3)—IRE will be giving $10,000 to Rebuilding Together New Orleans in addition to collecting donations and replacing roofs in the area.
“I think our overall message this year is coming together as an industry and really making a difference for the city of New Orleans,” said Brandi McElhaney, senior conference manager, IRE. “In addition to collecting donations in registration, we are incorporating this giving back into our keynote message this year and really looking for our industry to step up for the rebuilding of the area.”
Hurricane Ida made landfall in late August and caused an estimated $65 billion in damages in the U.S., with New Orleans being one of the hardest-hit areas.
While New Orleans is back up and running, many people are still dealing with the damage done to their homes.
In response, the Louisiana Home Builders Association established the Louisiana Home Builders Disaster Relief Fund (LHDRF) to assist communities and citizens within the impacted areas to recover and rebuild.
The fund:
- Provides disaster relief assistance to home builders in areas declared by the federal government or the State of Louisiana to be Disaster Areas to allow them to stay in business and begin to rebuild these areas;
- Assists communities and citizens located in these Disaster Areas in rebuilding efforts;
- Educates citizens about proper recovery and rebuilding procedures and the prevention of contractor fraud.
Last year, IRE collected donations from attendees as well as donated 1% of registration fees to Rebuilding Together, Southern Nevada. Commercial Roofers, Inc. donated labor and Beacon Building Products donated the materials to replace the roof on 73-year-old Las Vegas resident Lee Ann Luttrell's home.
Interested parties can sign up to volunteer when registering to attend the IRE.
The volunteer registration fee includes transportation, breakfast, lunch, and beverages.
“In February we will be back where this all started, 13 years ago, in New Orleans and we are very much looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and helping residents of New Orleans that are in need,” McElhaney said.
