Big Box Stores Support Their Communities

RCS Influencer Charles Antis says that he’s partnered with big box stores because of their philanthropy in his local community.  

Editor’s note: Watch the video to see and hear what Charles Antis has to say about how big box stores give back. You can read the transcript below the video, but we recommend seeing it for yourself.   

Good morning. It's Charles Antis. I'm the founder and CEO here at Antis Roofing in Irvine, California. And this month RoofersCoffeeShop question is about the big box stores. Do you use them? Now, thinking of big box, I didn't purposely wear Home Depot colors today, but this is a nonprofit focus shirt. And one of the things that I want to say about the big boxes that I partner with is they're all philanthropic. That's not just trendy with me. They do it because it keeps their employees happy, and happy employees at Home Depot will find things that I need when I go there, or when my contractor, when we go there, when our employees go there. So that's a great trait that not only is good for them, but we can model after. But when we partner with Home Depot, it goes deep, then it shows up in our community. 

This reminds me of one of the stories I've told more than any other. 31 years ago when I didn't have enough calls even to pay the bills, I got a call from a leak, from a lady who had leaks in every room. And I got excited as I drove there because I was going to repair these leaks and make money so I could pay the bills in my young company. But as I got closer to the house, I noticed they were getting smaller, until finally I turned on the street where the house would be and I just saw this dead grass and this home set back, and I hoped it wasn't it, but I knocked on the door anyway. And three things happened that lead me to where I am today. 

A woman answered the door with this tired look. Immediately I was overwhelmed with the smell of mildew that almost knocked me on my butt. But then suddenly as I tried to pull away and think what I was going to say, I felt a tug at my finger. And I looked down and there was this little blonde girl with this big wide smile. She had no idea what was going on. She didn't even notice the expressions on her mom and my face. She was happy because she had a visitor, and she didn't have a lot of visitors. And she pulled me in this tiny, disheveled home and finally into her room. I knew it was her room because she pointed to a unicorn, like a My Little Pony poster on the wall. But that was the time my eyes were drawn down to the floor where I saw four moldy mattresses. And I sat there until the mom walked in, and she had that same expression. 

And I don't know why it was the mom's expression and not that smile, but I looked at her and I said, before I could catch the words, I said, "I'm going to take care of your roof." And I went up there praying that it was only like a hole, but they needed a whole new roof. And so I got on the phone and I got volunteers. I didn't have any employees yet. And I went to Home Depot and I got a bunch of stuff. Now, they didn't give it to me then because I wasn't an established company. But that Home Depot product gave them a dry roof that weekend with those volunteers, and that family stayed in that home. And that eventually became who we are at Antis Roofing. We keep families safe and dry. It's almost so purposeful that it gets to the point where at Antis, we say that every nail matters, and it starts with this. 

Home Depot, I'd like to bring up in another expression. In the last 10 years, when Antis raises its hand and it says, "I want to go fix this home for girls," or, "I want to go to this food facility and I want to be able to help them store the food for the food insecure." And if I call Home Depot locally, they've always said yes to donate product. Always. If I'm raising a nonprofit, if I'm raising money for something, they'll donate product to raffle for that. So Home Depot is a big... I'm a big fan of, they're a great partner of Antis. They're a great partner in our community. I'd also like to mention outside of the big box shops, which a lot of them are philanthropic, and I know it is important that we partner with philanthropic brands because those are the ones that will be around. They are relevant to the community. 

I'd also like to point out how Home Depot today, just yesterday, Matt Schweickert, their Senior VP, announced that they are giving away $500,000 in tool kits for kids to get them in the trades, and they're giving it through the Boys and Girls Club through the YMCA. So outside of Home Depot, whose colors I'm wearing, I'm a big fan of those roofing entities, whether it's GAF, Owens Corning that do so much to give back in the industry, as well as the distributors, like beacon, like South Coast Shingle, our local partners here that do so much to give back, like to the Ronald McDonald Initiative. I would suggest that you partner with those that give back because those are the ones where every nail matters. Thank you. 

Charles Antis is the founder and CEO of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing. See his full bio here.