Tag Archive for: Christmas

Stonewater Roofing Brings Holiday Cheer To Children In Hospital

Christmas is the season of giving. We at Stonewater Roofing take that to heart, and nothing feels better than bringing a smile to a child’s face during the holiday season. That is why we partnered up with UT Health East Texas to spread cheer to children who are spending this Christmas in the hospital.

“When it comes to the holidays, it’s important for us to be able to look back at the past year and reflect on all the blessings that we’ve received as a company,” said Stonewater Roofing’s chief marketing officer Trent Spradlin, “and also to focus on where we can give back to the people that have helped make our success possible, which is our community.”

Stonewater Roofing employees went on a shopping spree at Target, walking out with bundles of toys and gifts for kids who will be in the UT Health East Texas pediatric ward when Santa comes to visit. Spradlin was joined by Stonewater Roofing’s human resources and safety director Delano Guevara, along with operations director Dianna Gregg.

The company also handed out more than $1,000 worth of gift cards to the parents of newborn babies at the hospital.

“It’s just so nice to see patients who are here, just to see the smile on their face,” added UT Health East Texas communications director Allison Pollan. “To see that they’re getting a gift card, that’s going to buy a lot of diapers for some of these new parents. Or we have a father who has six kiddos. That’s going to buy them Christmas presents. He’s been in the hospital for several days with his son and probably has not had a lot of time to do that, so to see his face and his whole demeanor change was very meaningful.”

But the day was particularly meaningful for Gregg. Her mother died in a car crash during the 2002 holiday season. “I was in the hospital. I was the kid,” she recalled. “I had to spend Christmas in the hospital and they gave me a toy, a stuffed animal from a random stranger. I still have that stuffed animal to this day.”

That is why it was important for Gregg to be at UT Health East Texas this year, to hand out toys to kids in similar situations. “It was time to pay it forward, what happened to me 17 years ago,” she said.

“It’s always very important to us to have local businesses, community members who are willing to give back, especially at the holidays,” explained Pollan. “Not many people want to be in the hospital over the Christmas holidays but, for those who are, to have something to brighten their day is very important.”

Stonewater Employee Makes Holidays Bright For Veterans

The best part of the Christmas season is bringing smiles to people’s faces with a kind gesture or a thoughtful gift. But there are some people who go all year barely being noticed. Despite decades of bravery and service, many residents at Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home in Tyler often find themselves alone for the holidays.

“You don’t realize how many of them have nothing. They don’t have anybody,” said Bryanna Chapman of Stonewater Roofing.

Chapman and her sister, Kelse Hollowell of Reuland Orthodontics, started working together to change that. “We got a whole bunch of stockings, and we have a list of things that were really needed by the veterans at the veteran home,” Chapman said. “We started this little thing for people to swing by the offices and pick up some stockings and just fill them with things that the veterans needed or wanted, or stuff that we thought would be a good little Christmas gift.”

Bryanna Chapman (left) and Kelse Hollowell (right) proudly display the Christmas stockings that are being filled for veterans.

The wishlists included items like non-slip socks, pens and notepads, tissues, lip balm, hand sanitizer, lotion, crossword puzzles and other activity books.

Chapman’s family at Stonewater Roofing was happy to help. “I just asked a lot of the guys or the office people if they wanted to help pitch in as well, and got a lot of response from it,” she added.

But this was not just an act of service for Chapman and Hollowell, it was a labor of love. “My husband, he’s in the Army. A lot of people in my family are in the military,” Chapman explained. “Veterans being in need over Christmas just broke my heart. I really wanted to help.”

Employees check over the Christmas stockings before they are delivered to veterans.

The stockings were delivered to the veterans in the days leading up to Christmas.

“It just makes sense,” Chapman continued. “They just didn’t have anything or anybody for Christmas, so being able to provide them with stuff like this just seemed like the right thing to do.”