Santa will bring one lucky family a life-changing gift this Christmas thanks to Backbone Roofing Inc.
Formed two years ago by Nathan Garrett, 32, the company has announced it will be giving a free roof to a family in need this holiday season.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to give back to the community if I had the chance,” Garrett said. “I’ve grown up in this business. Over the past two years I’ve seen the need in our community. Especially after the hurricane last year. There are a lot that couldn’t afford to fix the damage.”
Born and raised in Plant City, Garrett grew up wanting to make his community a better place. When he partnered with Graphite Media to handle his company’s social media and design his website, owner Nia Ramo encouraged him to get involved with the many social and civic-minded events around town.
Garrett built his company from the ground up with his own two hands. While he has a team that works alongside him, he runs the company largely by himself. He said he wants to get more involved, but his free time is almost non-existent. The roof giveaway is his way to help his community using the skills he has perfected over his lifetime.
When he was searching for a business name he happened to stumble upon the definition of “backbone.” He knew immediately he had found his trademark.
“It means strength of character, firmness,” Garrett said. “I was always taught to have a strong character, to live my life with honor and strong morals. It was a perfect fit. It represented what we’re all about.”
Four weeks ago, he began reaching out to the community to let them know Backbone Roofing would be providing this monumental gift. So far he has approximately 15 submissions. The submissions are completed online at backboneroofing.com.
“Sometimes bad things happen to good people,” the giveaway form said. “Sometimes the adversity that strikes a good neighbor is so serious that even life essentials, like having a roof over your head, take a back seat to the crisis at hand. Here at Backbone Roofing we want to help. This Christmas we will replace a roof for a local deserving family. We have partnered with ABC Supply Co. Inc., Owens Corning and a few anonymous contributors.”
Garrett said they are open to tackling any home up to 2,500 square feet and the deadline for submissions is Dec. 14. To win, a family must be nominated by someone else.
The nominator should write an essay detailing why their nominee deserves a new or replacement roof. They should also include pictures of the home and the nominee must agree to be in the contest.
The company will pick a winner by Christmas Eve, according to Garrett, and will be prepared to start at the first of the year. He said they should be able to do the entire overhaul in approximately two days.
This giveaway can drastically change someone’s life. A roof that size usually costs approximately $10,000 to replace, Garrett said. Having worked in the community he said he’s seen many who are using tarps, shingling over old shingles and trying other home remedies to temporarily place a bandage over the issue.
If a roof goes without repair for too long it will soon cause issues throughout the entire home. People need help, he said, and he’s always tried to structure his business to provide that help.
Backbone Roofing offers financing for any of its jobs. He said he knows how difficult these type of repairs can be for a family and he has always done his best to help them through the process. He said he hopes those who aren’t selected as the winner still know they can always find help at his company.
“It’s the season of giving,” Garrett said. “I’m just happy we can offer this. It’s the right thing to do, I was raised to give back. If it goes good, maybe we’ll do it every year around Christmas.”