Angie’s List: Angie’s Voice

Our report drive is officially over (whew!) and we collected a record number of reports: 79,400!

That’s a lot of List love, which makes me incredibly happy. Thanks to everyone who participated.Here are some quick stats on the prizes:

• 1,653 of our members qualified for a Flip video camera
• Chicago member Kinsey Jackson Ford won the NPR trip to Washington, D.C.
• Toledo member Josh Vollmar won the NPR trip to Chicago
• And our grand-prize winner of the $5,000 gas card is Margaret Burgess of Atlanta…who drives a Prius. By our calculations, the $5,000 gas card should last her just around six years! Wow!

In other List news, we’re still accepting your nominations for our newest Wishmakers project, so get those in quickly!

It looks like a busy weekend/week coming up. I have my first holiday party this weekend (already!) and that should jumpstart the holiday madness.

Check out an article from this month’s  featured e-mail about staying thankful, not wasteful during the holiday season. The full text is here, and there’s some corresponding quick tips over on the tips page, here.

Have a fantastic weekend everybody!

The Angie’s List Wishmakers program brings together local companies and local neighbors in need of a hand. We’re teaming up this year with Sterling-based DryHome Roofing & Siding Inc.’s annual “Free Roof for the Holidays” project.

If you know a deserving family or business in Northern Virginia please let Angie’s List and DryHome Roofing & Siding know about it. We’ll need a name, contact information, a brief description of the project and the reason you think they should be granted this help. We’d love to help everyone, but can help only one family or business at this time, so please be thorough in your description.

Nominations are due by Sunday, November 30th.  Please send all nominations to Angie B.
Thanks for your time and happy holidays!

(Last year’s winner and Shane, the son of  DryHome Roofing & Siding Inc.’s owner, Steve.)

Here’s the video from the ribbon cutting for Sebastian’s new room!

http://www.theindychannel.com/video/17621647/index.html

This was the largest Wishmakers project we’ve taken on, and this would never have been possible without a whole bunch of genuinely amazing people. I’ve got the full list after the break (there’s 21 different groups to thank–how wonderful!).

For earlier stories about this project, click here.

Continue Reading »

Our little Bubble Boy, Sebastian, will finally get to move into his new room!

(Read previous blog entries about Sebastian here and here and here.)

Geoff Horen and the Lifestyle Group crew have been really working hard to get everything ready and I can’t wait to see the finished result. Sebastian has spent most of his life so far in the hospital, protected from germs because of his SCIDS, but he’s gotten the a-OK from doctors to go on short trips to places like the library now.

I’m sure his mom, dad and big brother Xavier can’t wait to have him home for good. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and I’ll be sure to post videos and pictures when I get them.

Edit: We found a cute picture so I added it in.

Yesterday I stopped in for a quick visit with our little Bubble Boy, Sebastian.

(For a video, click here!)

He’s home and seems to be doing well. The food/medicine tube in his nose is the only visible sign that something is wrong–he looks like a happy, healthy little boy!

Sebastian’s parents and big brother, Xavier, all seem absolutely thrilled to have him home and safe.  I can’t imagine how hard this past year has been for them. Being home together as a family must be extra exciting.

The safe room addition is looking good, and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Geoff Horen and the crew at The Lifestyle Group have been so generous with everything. It’s really touching to see so many people bond together for such a great cause.

 I’ll keep updating as I get information in.

If you’re interested in donating time or materials for the Wishmakers project, contact the “other” Angie, Angela B., at angelab@angieslist.com.

Our little “bubble boy,” Sebastian, was released from the hospital this week!

For those new to the blog, Sebastian was born without an immune system and we’re doing our best to help him and his family out through our Wishmakers project.

Geoff Horen and the crew at The Lifestyle Group have been doing an incredible job organizing this project and getting it off the ground. We were able to break ground on Sebastian’s special room and get the foundation poured—thanks to contractor, Mike Short and Ryan Fowler, the owner of Jackson Concrete—and we’re about to start the framing!

When we realized that Sebastian would be going home much sooner than expected, we asked Mite-E-Ducts and Control Tech to come on in and do their work right away. They were wonderful and incredibly accommodating. Mite-E-Ducts did a full air duct cleaning and then installed an Ultraviolet Germicidal Lamp System. Control tech came out and installed a new heating/cooling system.

All these people deserve all the thanks I can give. We couldn’t do this without you!

I’ll keep updating as I get information in.

If you’re interested in donating time or materials for the Wishmakers project, contact the “other” Angie, Angela B., at angelab@angieslist.com.

Angie Barnes, the “other” Angie in public relations, has just started work on a major Wishmakers project here in Indy, and we’re excited to bring you updates as it unfolds!

We received a request for a local family whose little boy, Sebastian, was born without an immune system. The condition is called SCID, and is most commonly known as “The Bubble Boy” disease. Sebastian, who’s 11-months-old, has been at Riley Children’s Hospital for a while, but is scheduled to come home in less than two months. The family is extremely excited, but also overwhelmed with the challenge of converting their current home into a safe and healthy one.

The house is currently 1,500-square-feet, and the family would like to add a 12 x12 addition so they’re able to give Sebastian his own room and safe space.

Angie sent her first email requesting donations from Angie’s List service companies last Friday and began receiving offers within one hour! We know first hand how generous these companies can be but we were blown away by the speed of their response. Here’s what we’ve secured already:

• The Lifestyle Group has agreed to be the General Contractor for the entire job. They will over see the addition to the house, as well as all the smaller projects. Geoff Horen, the company’s CEO has personal experiences with Riley Hospital and is more than happy to do what he can to help another Riley family.
• iFloor.com is donating new laminate floors for the ENTIRE house!
•Mite-E Ducts will provide air duct cleaning for the family to ensure that little Sebastian only gets the freshest air
• Alpha & Omega Painting is donating the labor to paint the room addition.
•Thomas Pearson, Inc. is donating $250 to the project

What we still need are building materials, like framing, roofing, drywall, interior trim, siding, gutters, paint, four windows and one door. We’re also working to find an electrician.

Check out Sebi’s website and check back here for frequent updates to this amazing story!

One of my favorite projects at Angie’s List is the Wishmakers program we established in 2004, which pairs service companies with deserving members of their community. Our most recent request came from the staff at Heartland Hospice on behalf of Mattie Shelley in Indianapolis. Shelley had been living with a toppled oak tree in her front yard since the day she and her husband moved in. To make matters worse, her 57-year old husband had just weeks to live.

Heartland Hospice asked Angie’s List to take care of the tree while the couple, who spent their years together traveling and are the proud grandparents of 24, focused on their remaining days together.

At our request, Indiana Tree Service stepped in to remove the tree at no cost. Unfortunately, Mr. Shelley passed away before we became involved. But we’re very grateful to Indiana Tree Service for helping the Shelley’s, and our thoughts and prayers are with Mattie and her entire family.

Wishmakers

Originally uploaded by Angie Hicks
The sixth annual Wishmakers program is in full swing, and this year we’re starting earlier than ever! We’ve already had more than 20 service providers contact us to say they’re interested in donating their services, and now we’re asking Angie’s List members to nominate someone they know that is deserving of the program’s help. Click here to read about all of last year’s recipients and e-mail your nomination today!