This past week I saw an email from one of the big dogs in my company that sounded interesting. While seeing emails from him is not unusual, especially during this merger/takeover that’s going on where I work, this one in particular caught my intention, enough to write an article about it.
See, there’s this apartment complex here in West Palm Beach, FL, called Dunbar Village, a low income housing project like many others. According to some people I have asked the place is very poor and so scary that most people (many single mothers) are too afraid to go out. Well it turns out that the apartments in this village did not have A/C. Can you imagine not having A/C in a place like Florida, the Sunshine State? I know what it’s like to be a day or 2 without it. When I first moved in to this apartment the A/C unit was not working, it would be a few days before it could be replaced due to the time it takes to for delivery of the new unit. The owner was nice enough to allow us to use the deposit money to buy a window unit. But I did not get it till the next day so we went without A/C for one night, not exactly a cool night either, but we managed. I also had a recent problem that kept me and my family from enjoying a cool night. All in all it’s not a pleasant situation to be in. I can only imagine living without it every day in a place like West Palm Beach.
But leave it to a Rinker employee to make a difference on his own and then bring the cause to the office and have the rest of us join in and make the difference even bigger. When Bill, manager of the IT Dept, heard about this travesty he took it upon himself to go and get 5 A/C units, but he didn’t stop there. No, not Bill. This guy has a heart of gold and a brain to go with it. He brought them to the head of the Homeowners Association at Dunbar Village and coordinated with the City of West Palm Beach to have them installed in the homes of 5 single mothers living there. Once the news got out the email was sent out telling the story of a well known and loved man who, out of his pocket and without a second thought, went and bought 5 A/C units to make a different in 5 single mothers lives and to let them know that there still are good people out there who care. In this same email we were all asked to help make this a bigger difference by donating any amount of money we could to help buy more A/C units for the people of the Dunbar Village. My company is known for its tremendous generosity, everything from the thousands collected for United Way, to the March of Dimes walk many of us participate in and just recently I participated, for the first time, in what was called a Back to School Bash done I believe every year where some of us volunteer to help pack School backpacks with schools supplies donated by several charities and stores. The backpacks are packed with a specific list of items the particular schools require for particular grades. One by one we grabbed backpacks and walked down long tables grabbing items from different boxes that said how many of each item was needed inside the backpack. It was a great experience; it was wonderful to know children whose parents struggled just to provide adequate supplies would be helped by these schools so that their kids could get a decent education, even if Florida’s education system is one of the worst in the US.
Time and time again, year after year Rinker has made countless donations, has collected great amounts of donations and has been a strong participant in making Florida a better place for everyone. The plaques, awards and certificates all around the building stand as proof of Rinker employee’s enormous hearts. I am proud to be part of this company, I am glad I have a way to make a difference, I am happy to know I don’t have to lose hope that there are still a lot of good people out there. It’s amazing to think there are so many in a single 5 story (and a basement) building. I can only hope that the company that bought us out is as giving, if not more as Rinker has been all these years. God bless this great company and all of its employees and families.