Opus Group Ramp Team Volunteers to Help Kids in Need Foundation

We would like to thank and recognize members of The Opus Group Ramp Team, who installed a partition wall and built barn doors for the Kids in Need Foundation’s Customer Service Area/Store in Roseville. The Kids in Need Foundation is a nonprofit that provides school supplies and materials to kids throughout the country, as well as teachers that serve in schools in low income/disadvantaged areas.

Special thanks to Craig Larson and Marco Alfaro from our Opus Ramp Team for taking on this project and doing an amazing job!

The Opus Group Gives Back

On
May 3rd, we partnered with volunteers from The Opus Group to provide
repairs for two low-income homeowners and make repairs and improvements to the
new facility of Every Third Saturday, a nonprofit organization focused on
helping homeless and at-risk veterans. 

This
year we helped Elizabeth, who loves her St. Paul Midway home and neighborhood,
but needed some accessibility modifications to ensure her home is safe and she
can age-in-place successfully. Her rear entry steps, off an existing deck, posed
a serious fall hazard

and were the only access route to the
garage and yard. We stabilized and reinforced Elizabeth’s back deck and built a
low-rise, wide-step stair system with heavy duty railings.  In her thank you note, Elizabeth wrote, “I am
so grateful to the wonderful volunteers from Opus!  Thank you for my beautiful and safe deck and
stairs!”

In
addition, we made repairs and improvements to the new facility of Every Third
Saturday, a nonprofit founded in 2010 with the goal of helping homeless veterans
by providing some of the most basic necessities, such as clothing, blankets,
and toiletry items. Over the past eight years, Every Third Saturday has been
the driving force behind an effort that has had a major impact on the lives of
homeless veterans trying to survive in the harsh Minnesota weather. Every Third
Saturday’s founders, Tom McKenna and his wife Jessie, also serve as advocates
for veterans suffering from PTSD.

We
are incredibly grateful for the support of The Opus Group and the hard work of
their volunteers!  Together, we have made
a meaningful difference for two homeowners in need and the veterans served by
Every Third Saturday!

The Opus Group Makes a Difference on Founder’s Day

On Friday, April 21st, we partnered with volunteers from The Opus Group to provide much-needed home repairs for two South Minneapolis homeowners in need and make improvements to a charter school in East Saint Paul.

One of the homeowners we helped is Celeste, who moved into her South Minneapolis home in 1967 and raised her family there. Now a grandmother and widow (her husband was an Army veteran), Celeste remains an active member of the community in her golden years. She has taken on a leadership role within her church and volunteered many hours at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, until mobility issues forced her to step aside two years ago. These same mobility issues have prevented her from using the rear-entry steps to her backyard for over a year.  Volunteers from The Opus Group made accessibility modifications to the front and rear entries so Celeste can safely and independently come and go from her home and made several other repairs to her home.

We also helped Carolyn, who has lived in her South Minneapolis home for more than 20 years. A retired nurse, Carolyn now suffers from severe arthritis that has greatly limited her mobility. She loves her home, is surrounded by friendly neighbors, and is close to grocers, the library, and her church; however, getting around is a significant challenge. She has fallen in her home several times, and is now wheelchair-bound when going outside.  Volunteers from The Opus Group made accessibility modifications to the front and rear entries of Carolyn’s home, so she can leave her home independently; painted her kitchen walls and ceiling; installed new light fixtures; replaced storm windows; and replaced flooring in the living room and kitchen.

The Opus Group also made improvements at the Twin Cities Academy, a charter school located in East Saint Paul. Volunteers helped established a garden classroom on the site of the school, which will provide hands-on learning activities to accompany and enhance the science curriculum. Volunteers spent the day building and installing raised bed garden plots, an open-air classroom with benches, compost bins, walking paths, and arbors and trellises.

We are incredibly grateful for the support of The Opus Group and the hard work of their volunteers!  Together, we have made a meaningful difference for two homeowners in need and the students served by the Twin Cities Academy!