David Perez, a resident of Fremont, California, would regularly spot his elderly, 75-year-old neighbor climbing up to the roof every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. After a few hours up there, he would come back down. David was eventually able to figure out that the old man was trying to repair the shingles on his roof all by himself, so he posted the following plea on his behalf on Facebook:
I’m trying to reach anyone that has roofing experience. So please share this. I have a neighbor, the man on the roof in this picture, name unknown. He is about 80 years old and climbs onto the roof trying to finish putting the shingles on by himself. I feel sorry for him but I have no roofing skills. I would like to see if anyone can donate their time to help him finish. It appears that he has all the materials so looking for free labor to show up this Saturday, August 29th.
I’m trying to reach anyone that has roofing experience. So please share this. I have a neighbor, the man on the roof in this picture, name unknown. He is about 80 years old and climbs onto the roof trying to finish putting the shingles on by himself. I feel sorry for him but I have no roofing skills. I would like to see if anyone can donate their time to help him finish. It appears that he has all the materials so looking for free labor to show up this Saturday, August 29th at 9:00am at 4834 Murphy Court Fremont, CA which is my house. If I get some responses I will verify the owner will be home that day. Keep checking this post for updates.
David never expected the post to go viral, but it racked up over 1,400 shares in just a short time after he put it up. That Saturday, 40 people showed up to help fix the roof, while others donated pizza, water, and other snacks for the volunteers.
David’s neighbor, 75-year-old Richard Dubiel, was amazed by the response. He’d spent the last three months trying to fix the shingles on the roof in preparation for the El Niño storms. His knees ached every time he was up there, but thanks to David and a bunch of kind strangers, he didn’t have to worry about it.
“It restores your faith in humanity,” says Richard. “I’m just astounded. I couldn’t believe it when this fella knocked on my door and said he wanted to help for free. What a gesture.”
“You see so much negativity and out here, this was positive – real positive – with no thought of return or reward, other than that of helping somebody,” Richard added.
David initially estimated that the project would take a full day, but due to the high turnout, the group was able to get the whole roof done in just four hours!
“Just knowing how many times people shared [the Facebook post], it was very surprising how far it reached,” says David. “The ones who took their time to come out and help a stranger was very nice. It was very uplifting to see that.”
Don’t forget to SHARE this kind gesture with your family and friends.
