Had a snapshot been taken it would have looked like any given workday for Chris Long, but earlier this month when he was found doing landscaping and other outdoor work for the BigHouse Foundation in Auburn, AL, it was actually his day off. Chris and his wife Candy, who own The Grounds Guys in Auburn, decided they wanted to do something to give back to the community for WeCARE Day, according to the Auburn-area news source OANOW.com.
“WeCARE day is a time for the Grounds Guys to give back to the community and to encourage the spirit of giving,” Candy Long said. “And the BigHouse is such an incredible organization that enhances the lives of foster children and foster families throughout the state of Alabama, and so it’s an honor to partner with such a compassionate local organization.”
As Candy mentioned, the BigHouse Foundation is an organization that helps foster kids and families with everyday challenges as well as specific programs designed for things like the holiday season. The Grounds Guys are a full-service lawn care franchise with a host of experienced landscapers that make up a small part of the estimated 878,969 people who are employed in the U.S. landscaping industry.
“Today we are here to rejuvenate the landscape here at BigHouse (Foundation), and we are cleaning flower beds and putting out mulch and pine straw and planting flowers, removing a tree and cleaning fencing and just any odd jobs that they need for us to do today,” Candy told the Opelika-Auburn News on the Nov. 6 WeCARE Day.
WeCARE Day is a part of WeCARE Week, which was started in 2005 as a way to remember a local tragedy. One resident, Monika Woerlen, and her seven children were killed in a house fire the year before, so the week was established as a way for the community to come together and help each other.
The Grounds Guys have only had a location in Auburn for about a year and this was their first WeCARE participation. The reason they chose the non-profit group was because they were so impressed by the work they do and wanted provide the kids that frequent the BigHouse with an even more homely and appealing place to visit.
