What began as a small group of guys helping neighbors in need has snowballed into a community effort to ensure the senior couple gets back on their feet after Winter Storm Uri destroyed their home.
In March 2021, Georgetown Beard Club President Rob Kiddie was asked to help a local family who needed home repairs and had gone without water since the freeze. The club raised $8,000, figuring that would be enough for the hole in the roof and a few busted pipes, only to find the home in much worse condition than expected due to deterioration over many years. “We can’t just put a Band-Aid on this,” Rob realized. “We basically dug our feet into the ground, put our nose to the grindstone, and decided we would help this family regardless. We can’t walk away from it now. We’re committed.”
MANY HANDS
Chris and Emily Hamilton, who told Rob about the need, have driven the project and served as project superintendents. Others have stepped up to lend a hand, including Texas Baptist Men, First Baptist Church of Georgetown, Crestview Baptist Church, Texas Traditions Roofing, Water Mission, Prime Wall Systems, Structura, Home Depot, L&M Construction, Allied Electrical, donor and volunteer Scott Linebrink, and numerous other businesses and donors listed on the club’s website. The Walburg Annual Invitational BBQ Cook-Off also raised $17,000 for the family after donating $5,000 last year.
One year into their labor of love, the Georgetown Beard Club has raised almost $100,000 in monetary and in-kind donations. “It was a community effort. A lot of companies stepped up and really helped us out,” Rob says.
One year into their labor of love, the Georgetown Beard Club has raised almost $100,000 in monetary and in-kind donations. “It was a community effort. A lot of companies stepped up and really helped us out,” Rob says.
The most rewarding part of the project has not only been getting to help a local family in need; it’s been getting to know Bill and Lillian Black. A generous-hearted, salt-of-the-earth couple in their 70s, as Rob describes them, the Blacks have four children and adopted eight special needs kids.
As the family wanted to remain on the property during the project, the Beard Club purchased a trailer for them to stay in, and the Hamiltons built a ramp for a wheelchair-bound son. Happily, the family has been able to watch their home undergo a complete overhaul, as club members fixed the holes in the floor, repaired the decking, added new stucco sidings, rebuilt the back patio, and replaced the roof.
In addition to a longer-than-expected timeline, volunteers have faced supply shortages for materials like lumber, decking, and currently, electrical supplies. But making a difference in others’ lives has made the challenges worthwhile. “It’s easy enough to write a check to the Red Cross and other big charities, but we never get to see the impact for ourselves,” Rob says.
“When you write a check to fix a neighbor’s house, you see that tangible benefit of the people you’re helping. That makes it worth it. That’s why we do this.”
LEND A HAND CAMPAIGN
While the home repair project is coming to an end, the Lend a Hand Campaign is still in need of items like countertops, doors, decking for ADA-compliant ramps, and household appliances. To donate, visit georgetownbeardclub.com. For project updates, check out the Unanswered Prayers Facebook page and the club’s website.
When the Georgetown Beard Club started, the goal was simply to improve the image of people with facial hair. The club has since evolved into a charity-focused group of a dozen members who host fundraisers throughout the year for various causes and charities.
“Our mission has been to make our community a better place every day,” Rob says. “Everything we do is to try to make sure it has a local impact in our community. What’s more local than our neighbors?”
Plus, the group is open to anyone, beard or none. Rob says, “If you’ve got eyebrows, that counts as facial hair. All we ask is that you support the charitable causes we want to support.
Men or women, anyone who wants to come out and do some good in the community.”