One of the key aspects that attracted me to Farmers Insurance six years ago was the organization's strong emphasis on caring and giving back to communities. Like so many of my colleagues, I've had incredible opportunities to combine charitable work with activities that add to our individual business skills as well as organizational team building.
I've also had the privilege of working with a number of inspiring individuals at Farmers to develop new programs to help those truly in need—including the Farmers Family Fund, which helps our own members of the Farmers family who have fallen on hard times.
For the last year and-a-half, I've been working closely with our Farmers Cares group, which is a dedicated team of Farmers employees who look at promoting relationships with select non-profit groups and develop opportunities to help our non-profit partners become even more effective. This new approach to strategic partnerships is already making a difference on our business.
In 2013, Farmers established a strategic relationship with Rebuild Joplin, a community-based local extension of the St. Bernard Project, located in Joplin, Mo. This initial relationship has since developed into one of the company's most ambitious and successful community partnerships, thanks in large part, to the proud tradition of civic involvement Farmers has long enjoyed.
Through this partnership, Farmers volunteers and members from Rebuild Joplin began work on rebuilding the Joplin community after a devastating EF5 tornado had destroyed much of the town in 2011. With much success in Joplin, earlier in the year we expanded our efforts to include another St. Bernard Project partnership in Monmouth County, N.J., to help with recovery efforts in New Jersey communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
Through these partnerships, I've had the privilege of working countless hours in these communities, helping to rebuild homes and ultimately the lives of these families still impacted by disaster. Working with fellow Farmers volunteers, I've donned safety glasses and hard hats to gut the interior of damaged homes, installed insulation, hung drywall, painted and installed siding, among other tasks. Participating in these-labor intensive activities has been a real honor, and has been personally fulfilling knowing I've been able to help these families. I've also been able to witness, firsthand, Farmers employees and agents develop strengthened relationships with one another that will help further our business results down the road.
More recently, I was lucky enough to have some time in my schedule to help work on the home of Hilton Dantes, a Keansburg, N.J., homeowner, who like many residents impacted by Sandy ran out of funds before being able to complete the rebuild of his home. He had just enough money to lift the house to the newly required height codes, but not enough to repair the uninhabitable interior, despite having flood insurance and a disaster loan.
In an unfortunate twist of fate, Hilton had been moving out of his rented Brooklyn apartment and slowly transferring his belongings to his New Jersey home when Sandy struck. Thus, not only was his home destroyed, but also his apartment, leaving him temporarily homeless and without any belongings. Hilton is a truly hardworking man who bought his home in Keansburg, —which he called his "dream home," in order to bring his elderly mother to the U.S. from Brazil. Since the storm, he has had to send his mother back to Brazil until he has a place for her to live in.
I worked two days with Hilton and a large group of Farmers volunteers, installing insulation and drywall in his home during our 29-hour build during the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. During those two days, I learned a great deal about Hilton and his struggles. It was fascinating to observe Hilton and witness his emotions as he saw how much work the team completed in such a short time. Throughout the 29 straight hours of work, Hilton constantly walked through the house, helping the volunteers along the way, and did it with a huge grin on his face the entire time. It is our hope that through our efforts, Hilton will be back in his home before the end of the year.
Over the period of time that we have worked with the folks at the St. Bernard Project, I have met many homeowners like Hilton. Another resident I keenly remember is Erik Lovegren, a homeowner in Sea Bright, N.J.
Erik was in his home when Sandy struck. He sat at the top of the stairs while flood waters crept in, slowly destroying his home and everything he possessed on the first floor. Because of the damage to his home, Erik was not able to have his daughter over for her regular visits. To add to his challenges, in his attempt to do repair work himself, an accident nearly killed him.
As a mother of two, I couldn't imagine being kept away from my children. His story truly touched me, and knowing that Farmers was there, helping to bring a family back together is a key reason why these types of charitable programs are so important.
As the Chief Administrative Officer for Farmers Group Inc., I have the opportunity of overseeing human resources and employee engagement for Farmers. From all of my experiences in rebuilding communities, some of the best team-building opportunities for our executives and employees, including myself, have come from our involvement in helping communities rebuild through the Farmers Cares program.
The fact that doing good is helping to strengthen the skill sets of our current and future leaders and is helping to build a stronger culture of teamwork will also deliver business dividends for years to come.
At the end of the day, it's about doing good for communities and families in need. Whether it's through charitable programs, providing insurance to our customers or helping customers recover after a loss, our primary focus will continue to be on the personal connections we forge.
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