For the last four years, a local roofing supplier has been running its Beacon of Hope campaign.
The contest is focused on helping veterans and their families by providing them with a free roof.
This year, a Trenton, Ont., military family won the contest.
“Having an experience like this happen is emotionally overwhelming,” says military reservist Master Cpl. Margot Bayer.
Once the rain passed, roofers got busy with the task.
Friends or family members nominate a member of the military or veteran for the contest.
“For what these people do for us and, you know, go overseas and help us in whatever they do, it’s so little. It seems like, to give them a new roof…,” says Julie Wright, a spokesperson for Beacon of Hope.
“But it’s such a great feeling.”
Bayer is a medic attached to the Hastings and Prince Edward regiment, and says it was a friend that nominated her for the Beacon of Hope contest.
“She contacted me and she said, ‘I need your service number,'” says Bayer.
“I said, ‘Why?’ and she said, ‘None of your business.'”
Bayer says she found out she was getting a new roof for free on Remembrance Day — an emotional moment on an already emotional day.
“I don’t know how to say thank you,” says Bayer.
“I don’t know how to thank people enough for saying thank you back to me, because I don’t think I do anything special.”
Bayer’s partner is also in the military. When he heard about the new roof, he was in shock.
“It was happiness, shock,” says David Brooks, Bayer’s partner.
“But mainly, it feels good to see that she gets recognized for all the things that she does.”
Bayer says she’s pleased that Beacon of Hope exists — not for herself, but for so many other military families and veterans.
“Adding financial stress of, you know, of home renovations and that type of thing, it adds an unnecessary level of stress that Julie and her team take off of people and that’s huge,” says Bayer.
Beacon of Hope will be accepting nominations for next year’s contest starting Aug. 15th.