CES Martinsburg Joins Forces with Local Community to Help A Child In Need
When a child is in need, there’s nothing the power of teamwork cannot accomplish. That was the case when City Electric Supply (CES) Martinsburg Branch Manager Jason Moser joined efforts with a local contractor and other companies to prepare a child’s home for arrival after a long stint in the hospital.
It started when Chad Haines, a local contractor, electrician, and CES customer, walked into the Martinsburg branch to buy a generator pad.
Haines asked Moser if there was any chance he could get a deal on the generator pad for a project he was working on for a good cause.
Raising Money for Robbie
That’s when Moser learned about Jamie’s Dream Team, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based non-profit organization that helps people dealing with serious illness, injury, disability, or trauma.
The organization aimed to raise $12,000 for Robbie, a West Virginia child who was in a children’s hospital near Pittsburgh and needed his house prepared before his release. They learned about Robbie from a social worker who was assisting with his transition home, but his house experienced frequent power outages.
Instead of cutting a deal, Moser picked up the generator pad, walked it out to the customer’s truck, and said it was on the branch.
“We try to help our customers every day by providing the best pricing we can. But this was the first time we were able to help someone in need, and it felt great,” Moser said.
Getting the Work Done
Haines learned about Robbie when his wife heard a feature on a local radio show. At the time, they had only raised $2,000 out of the $12,000 needed to prepare the house for his return.
“That’s when my wife handed me the phone,” Haines said. “I wanted to help. I’m blessed enough to have these skills that can support people who need it.”
Robbie, who is on a ventilator, had been in the hospital since October, and the hospital couldn’t release him until his house had a backup generator and a wheelchair lift due to those frequent power outages.
After visiting a couple of CES branches to get various parts, he ended up at the Martinsburg branch, where CES donated the generator pad. CES Hagerstown also pitched in with control wires and other parts.
After the parts were donated, it didn’t take long for Haines, his brother – Walter Kirby with Walt’s Precision Concrete, and other local contractors to install the generator and wheelchair lift.
It was an ongoing process with a couple of minor setbacks before Robbie made it home. But none of the delays made the mission impossible. Robbie was able to happily make it home, where he is doing well, thanks to the team effort from the community.
“It was very heartwarming. Acts like this help gain trust in humanity again to see people pull together in the community,” said a representative from Jamie’s Dream Team.
“A lot of people in the community had to come together to make it happen for Robbie,” Haines said. “It was nice to see people come together for a young man who needed help.”