Jennifer Workman walks away from Roger and Shari Bennett’s house after a quick visit Thursday. Workman, who drives a garbage truck, has known the couple on her route for years, and has recently organized a group of businesses and volunteers donating labor and materials to replace their roof this weekend.
Jennifer Workman, right, has organized a project to replace the roof on a home owned by Roger and Shari Bennett. Workman drives a garbage truck and has known the Bennetts for years. She recently noticed the roof was in a state of disrepair and organized a volunteer project to replace it.
The roof on Roger and Shari Bennett’s circa-1920 house is in poor repair, and after going through hard times and medical issues, they weren’t sure how to fix it when their longtime garbage truck driver coordinated a community effort to replace the roof with donated labor and materials this weekend.
Roger and Shari Bennett onThursday called Jennifer Workman, right, an “angel,” and thanked her for organizing a group of volunteers and businesses who will donate materials and labor this weekend to replace their roof.
For years, LeMay garbage truck driver Jennifer Workman’s route has passed by Roger and Shari Bennett’s cozy, yellow, circa-1920 house near Centralia College. Each week, she and the couple would exchange a few words and a smile.
“She would come out and always have this smile on her face,” Workman said, of Shari. “She would bring me one cookie, fresh out of the oven. I just love her.”
This weekend, Workman is paying the Bennetts back for their warmth and then some — she has organized a community-wide effort to re-roof the Bennetts’ home free of charge. Workman coordinated with numerous companies and individuals to get all of the work and materials donated, including guaranteed work from a roofing company.
“There aren’t words,” Shari Bennett said. “It’s a blessing. You never think this is going to happen.”
Workman didn’t expect her friendly treatment from Shari Bennett each week, but when the warm cookies stopped coming, she started to worry about her and her husband Roger, aged 72 and 67, respectively.
“In the last year or so I hadn’t really seen her out much. I was starting to get concerned and I was looking at their roof,” she said earlier this month. “This last windstorm that we have I’d seen they had tarps up there. I laid in bed at night and said, ‘What am I going to do?’”
Workman was worried about embarrassing the couple, but said a higher power gave her the courage to approach them.
“The power of God just pulled me from the truck to knock on their front door,” Workman said.
The Bennetts said they were previously able to conduct maintenance on the house which had long been in her husband’s family.
“I grew up here,” Roger Bennett said. “She saved the house.”
However, health and other problems became a huge strain on the couple, who “had to give it to the Lord,” Shari said.
The Bennetts said Workman, who they call an angel, was the answer to their prayer.
Workman then got down to the business of coordinating efforts to fix the roof. She didn’t want to collect money, instead opting for donated labor and materials.
“I just knocked on the door and asked them if it would be okay if I helped them. I hadn’t a clue what I was doing,” she said.
Despite her inexperience, she said no one turned down her requests for help.
Companies including Hardel Mutual Plywood in Chehalis, Washington Cedar & Supply and Lincoln Creek Lumber are donating supplies, while LeMay, Inc., is helping with the cleanup. Buzzard and O’Rourke Attorneys at Law and Goebel Septic also made donations. Christian Roofing will install the shingles and offer a warranty for their work.
“I just started crying,” she said, recounting the feeling when she had secured all of the necessary materials. “Nobody said ‘no’ to anything that was of any need.”
The volunteer crews plan to start working Saturday, with roofers scheduled to show up Monday morning.
