It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since we set out for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to help with post Katrina reconstruction. We met some great people while we were there that were doing some amazing work. Although we were only there a week we feel that we made an impact on a select number of lives.

On February 11, 2007 Neil & Joel traveled to Mississippi with about a dozen members of the Chicagoland NARI Chapter.  While there we worked with a religious organization, City Team, that responds to natural disasters around the world.  There were about fifty volunteers there that week all living in a tent city on a baseball diamond about four blocks from the Gulf.  We took cold showers, ate great food prepared by local volunteers and learned a lot about people.  How they come together from a tragedy and how they truly care and help each other.

Over the week we split up and worked on three different homes.  We met the homeowners that were still living in their FEMA trailers almost two years later.  The conditions even that far out were still a mess.  It was great to be able to finish three homes the week we were there and see the owners get their lives back.

To remember and reflect we wanted to share some of our photos from that trip.

Joel got a nice mention in a recent article from the Daily Herald.  The story chronicles a charity project that the Chicago chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) took on earlier this year for a family in Elk Grove Village.  Find the complete article here.  Thanks to all of those at NARI that allowed us to be a part of this important project.

Crimson participated in ‘Casual for a Cause’ on September 21, 2009, in honor of World Alzheimer’s Day.  Employees could purchase a sticker to don casual attire for a suggested donation of $5 – $10.  We are proud to announce that our entire team participated in this event!

Crimson was able to show our commitment to the fight against Alzheimer’s by dressing down in jeans and purple tees.  Our company donation helps provide funding for the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association.

35 million people worldwide have dementia.  Crimson is proud to have been a part of this wonderful cause.  For more information on Alzheimer’s Disease go to www.alz.org.

My wife, Jennine, and I spent the morning renovating the landscape.  We, along with other volunteers of the Oswegoland Park District, spent the morning planting native prairie plants in the Waubonsie Wetlands.  This watershed connects the Waubonsie Creek to the Fox River.  Over decades of development the natural topsoil has been removed and replaced with clay, sand and gravel.  The park district is attempting to return this area to its natural environment.

We spent the morning in 80+ degrees weather digging holes in the rock-hard clay for new plants. The plants include: liatris, prairie dropseed grass, black-eyed susan and prairie geranium.

Dave Margolis, Oswegoland Park District’s Natural Resource Manager, was very pleased with the progress we made this morning.  We planted over 200 plants!  Not bad for a hot day.  Dave hopes that by next year the roots have taken hold and the plants are multiplying to fill the entire area.

Saturday, February 7th, Jennine & Neil attended the Fox Valley Wildlife Center’s Fundraising dinner and silent auction. The dinner was in Geneva and was held to raise funds for the center in Elburn. The center takes care of injured and orphaned wildlife in and around the Fox Valley area.

The Great Horned Owl pictured here was found injured and brought to the center where they cared for it and returned it to the wild.

Jennine is actively involved with the center (she is a past president of the organization) and we attend the dinner each year. This year Crimson donated a Chimenea outdoor fireplace that was auctioned Saturday night. It’s a great organization of dedicated volunteers that care for more than 1300 animals each year.

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Learn more about the Fox Valley Wildlife Center.