The Mack Project

Our team was approached about two years ago from a friend and community philanthropist Mary Nemeth about helping a family who had fallen on hard times. She’s a single mother of six and one of her sons, who went to Philip Simmons High School, had a brain aneurism. Hospital and medical bills were piling up to the point where they lost their home. She had to spend a lot of time with him, and work was hard to come by. The other kids were kind of spread out throughout the community with some family members and friends.

Our owner, Ryan Butler, went out and looked at an existing structure they had on a property, and he didn’t think it was salvageable. He began brainstorming and thought maybe it would be better to build a new house. Mary raised more than $60,000 in monetary donations for the project through a grassroots fundraising effort, while Ryan secured thousands more through donations of time and materials from local contractors and vendors.

Our vendors and trade partners contributed what they could and there were several people (some of whom are our past and current clients) made donations and did a lot of the work for free.

Ryan and Mary worked to ensure that a completely new home would be built for the family free of charge, and that SHELTER would be the builder’s spearheading the project. This project turned out to be an amazing showcase of the generosity and strength of the Charleston community, and SHELTER’s trades and suppliers.

The end result is a four-bedroom, move-in ready home that will was fully furnished with furniture, décor items, and other necessities. Community and family members came out during the construction process to write “blessing” messages, such as quotes and scriptures, on the beams throughout the home.

With the build now finished and the Mack family enjoying their home, it gives us all an opportunity to reflect. And the Mack family’s new story is officially underway, thanks to an army of volunteers, contractors, local businesses and others who helped make their dream of a place to call their own a reality. The Cainhoy peninsula family moved into their brand new home, paid for completely through donations, the weekend of Aug. 7-8. This project was such a special experience for everyone involved. To see the community, trades, and suppliers all come together in support of the Mack family was nothing short of inspirational. This story proves that even when it seems like times are too tough or if you feel like your situation may never get better, there is always someone looking out for you

Everyone at SHELTER is thrilled to celebrate the completion of the home, as well as the incredible efforts of the Charleston community and the contributions made throughout the project. While life will have its ups and downs, stories like this show that things can and will get better. We are all wishing the best for the Mack family as they start a new chapter in their new home.