Members of the Northwest Ohio Piping Industry teamed up with other area building trades members and Feet on the Street, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Toledo Police Department to help two children recover from a horrific, life-changing situation.
The Toledo community was shocked to learn about a murder-suicide in August 2016, which took the life of one of Toledo’s emergency dispatchers and left three children without their birth parents.
Facing life without their birthparents and few places to turn, the eldest of the three children, who was of legal age, decided to live with a relative. The two remaining juvenile girls, with the approval of their relatives, moved into the home of family friend Rachel Kolebuck, a Toledo emergency dispatcher, who had worked with their mother. Kolebuck eventually gained legal custody of the two girls.
By making this generous, life-changing decision to raise the two girls, one in elementary school and the other in high school, the Kolebuck house suddenly became a cramped place for all to live, as the family did not have enough space to comfortably raise two additional family members.
When word got out to the community about the tight living quarters, Feet on the Street approached the Northwest Ohio Building Trades and asked for their help in giving the two girls, who tragically lost their parents, a chance to regain some normalcy in their lives.
The Piping Industry was one of eight building trade organizations, that stepped up to the plate. Without hesitation, they agreed to donate both labor and their contractor’s donated materials to convert the Kolebuck basement into a functioning living space for the children.
The project, called the Kolebuck Kids Humanitarian Project, help the Kolebucks add two new bedrooms and a bathroom to their house.
The highly skilled and highly trained Piping Trade members expertly began working on the plumbing part of the project and the building trades completed the home renovation in April 2017, six weeks after starting the project.
Toledo Police Officer Joe Okos, of Feet on the Street, told the Toledo Blade said it was a privilege to help the Kolebucks. He said one of the girls told volunteers the only thing she wanted was a closet.
The Piping Industry was honored to help the family of Rachel Kolebuck during this time to help make a positive impact on the lives of the two girls following their tragic loss.