Epstein, Rebuilding Together Help Couple Repair Home

Last month, the Epstein Community Foundation (ECF), a not-for-profit charity formed by Epstein employees, participated in an event with Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago, a nationwide organization dedicated to providing critical home repairs, modifications and improvements for residents in need.

This year, ECF helped to improve the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harney, 75 and 62, which is located on the west side of Chicago. The loving couple is helping their 24-year-old granddaughter raise her 5-year-old son.

While Mrs. Harney suffers from sciatic nerve pain, she is an open and talkative woman who enjoys sewing. Mr. Harney loves to listen to music and watch sports.

In April, the ECF team performed many repair and replace-related tasks throughout the Harney home so the family can continue to live safely and independently, but also in a house with greater functionality, thus improving their quality of life.

Epsteins work scope included:

• Securing the handrail in the front hall
• Replacing the front door threshold
• Replacing stairs and some deck boards
• Painting and minor patching in 3 rooms
• Replacing kitchen cabinets, countertops, sink, faucet and floor tile
• Replacing the bathroom vicinity, medicine cabinet, sink and faucet
• Installing grab bars and an ADA toilet in the bathroom
• Replacing the bedroom carpet
• Removing clutter from the basement
• Planting and cleaning up the homes side yard

Mr. and Mrs. Harney both got involved in the project, and even participated during the build day. Mrs. Harney served as a runner, who went and got supplies and items needed from Home Depot.

Mrs. Harney recently reached out to me to thank us, again, for the work we did, said Deion DeBose, an Epstein Design Engineer. For a homeowner, who cant necessarily individually perform all these tasks, having someone come in and do it thats a huge, lasting effect for everyone involved.

Collectively, Rebuilding Together affiliates have completed work on more than 100,000 homes and engaged 3.4 million volunteers to deliver $1.3 billion in market value since its founding in 1988.

Epstein would like to thank the efforts of all the volunteers who participated, including our team captains, Deion and Olivia Corcoran, and additional helpers: Anders Rustin, Jeffrey McQuinston, Will Owen, Christina Stoczynski, Ilyssa Kaserman, Patrick Carata, Annelyse Rubio, Monika Ciesielska, Will Ernst, Kyle Howeler, Charlie Luthanen, Trish Taylor, Michael Gillhouse, Tim Gall, Matt Helfenbein, Jim Jirsa, Jon Scales, Jake Effinger, Jeremy Rose and Judy Sells.

The ECF, founded in 2008, is devoted to empowering people to improve their lives through a commitment to developing partnerships with communities in need. Over the years, the ECF has been involved in numerous charitable partnerships and collaborations with organizations similar to Rebuilding Together, such as Open Books and Chicago Public Schools.

I thought the experience was awesome and went very well, Deion said. For me, managing the project and keeping in contact with the homeowner were the highlights. But the biggest takeaway is the affect you have on the homeowner. Seeing them excited they are, just, so touched by what were doing. Were doing something really positive for the community.