03/29/2023
The company's tradition of helping the local community before the International Roofing Expo continued.
Sika Corporation’s roofing team kept up one of their favorite traditions once again at the 2023 International Roofing Expo (IRE) with their 13th sponsorship of the Community Service Day. Sika’s participation began with the original conception of this event with the IRE back in 2010. In the beginning, the Sika Sarnafil team partnered with the IRE to create an event the day before the expo opened that would give back to the local community wherever the event was being held. Based on the success of that very first event, a new tradition was born. Each year, members of Sika, as well as show attendees from across the roofing industry can volunteer to give back to members of the local community.
Rebuilding Together, a national non-profit organization focused on helping revitalize local communities, especially those affected by natural disasters, partnered with the IRE and Sika to help make the program a success. Members of the Rebuilding Together chapter local to the expo help identify candidates in the local community in need of help and choose projects that the sponsorship can help fund. Projects over the years have included local homes, schools and even a local Boys & Girls Club at one point. As in past years, Sika’s donation of $15,000 helped fund the event and pay for the materials and supplies needed on the projects.
This year’s IRE took place in Dallas, TX, where everything is bigger including the turnout to volunteer! “For our 13th consecutive IRE community service event, we had to turn Sika employees away,” mentions Brian Blaquiere, Director of Marketing Communications. “We had over 15 Sika Roofing employees from Sarnafil, LAM and Hydrotech join the event. This is more than double the number of Sika volunteers of past events. It was great to see.”
Sika’s sponsorship and participation this year helped fund projects on three local homes in need. As is customary with Rebuilding Together’s program, candidates identified by Rebuilding Together were either people dealing with disabilities, U.S. military veterans, or single head of households without the means to improve their living conditions. Projects that volunteers accomplished that day included replacing a fence, building multiple new entry and stairway handrails, painting, and much more. The donation from Sika also covered work and materials completed by Rebuilding Together beyond the one-day event.Sika has already committed to keeping this tradition alive next year when the IRE returns to Las Vegas, NV, in February 2024.
