Matt, Elissa and Hailey Horan in front of their home that volunteers from McCarthy Building Companies and 22 local subcontractors renovated after learning the family needed their assistance.Long time Los Alamitos residents, Elissa and Matt Horan have experienced a great deal of hardship over the last few years. Matt was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago and Elissa was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She recently completed 12 months of chemotherapy and is now undergoing radiation treatment to fight the cancer. Matt and Elissa have four children—Vanessa, Carrie and Dylan are over 17 years old and Hailey is just 2 years old. Both Carrie and Hailey live with Matt and Elissa.“The Heart Hats learned about the Horan family from Yvonne Hernandez, the owner of Helping Hands Cleaning, who participates in Cleaning for a Reason (http://www.cleaningforareason.org), a non-profit cleaning service providing free professional housecleaning, and maid services to improve the lives of women undergoing treatment for cancer,” said McCarthy project secretary Mary Jo VanAlstine. “After hearing about the plight of the Horan family and visiting them, we knew we had to offer some immediate assistance.” Horan home team leaders Mary Jo, McCarthy secretary Dana Greaney and office manager/director of community services Linda Osborn along with project superintendent Steve Proffitt began soliciting McCarthy volunteers and donations of labor and supplies from their business partners. Within just three weeks, the Heart Hats had obtained over $1,700 in cash donations and enough labor and supplies to provide a significant home makeover. “When Mary Jo told me about the plans for our home and what she was about to launch, I was flabbergasted and just cried,” said Elissa Horan. I thought, things like this don’t seem to happen, but still my prayers were answered. To this day, it is still unbelievable.” Between February 15 and February 26, approximately 30 volunteers worked into the night to finish the home remodel. Some of the Horan’s neighbors even pitched in.
The project included: a new roof courtesy of Letner Roofing; electrical work by Berg Electric with light fixtures and labor by Briggs Electric; plumbing repairs and installation of new fixtures by Pan Pacific Plumbing; exterior paint by Koller Coatings and new windows for the master bedroom and front bath by Tower Glass. Tammie Smith provided interior design services and donations including tile for the shower and kitchen, furniture and funds for the family. Other interior renovations entailed: paint by RM Hasson, carpet and vinyl flooring from Progressive Flooring; closet and interior doors by REW, Inc.; tile installation from McCandless Tile; demolition of cabinets and flooring by Nuprecon; installation of the drywall by PCI Contracting as well as the installation of a granite sink/vanity for the main bathroom by McCarthy superintendents.
The team also cleaned the yard and conducted other landscape repairs.Elissa and Hailey Horan along with and Carrie Hirn-Horan in their kitchen that was just remodeled with donations of supplies, appliances and labor by volunteers from PCI, McCarthy Building Companies and interior designer Tammie Smith.
Additional donations included: a new Kenmore oven range from RW Smith; furniture and funds from volunteer Peggy Schlemmer and Chartreuse Home Furnishing; appliances and funds for a new children’s bedroom set, kitchen cabinets and the bathroom vanity from McCarthy employees; a new garage door from PJHM Architects, UCMI Inspection and GSO Overnite; mobile mini storage from Day Construction; lumber from JB Lumber; concrete for exterior landscape from J&M; a dumpster from Southern California Environment; lodging for the family from Ayres Hotel and cash donations from AO Reed, GSO Premiere, Martin Integrated and Seeley Bros.
“We were overwhelmed and grateful to the support received from the subcontracting community and suppliers within our short timeline,” said Mary Jo. “Elissa and Matt are such wonderful people. Even through all of their hardships, they are still joyful and optimistic. We hope our efforts help to ease some of the day-to-day burden for Elissa and Matt. Seeing the smile on little Hailey’s face when she went into her new pink Dora themed room definitely touched my heart.” Upon completion of the project, Elissa, Matt and Hailey explained what the remodel will do for their family and expressed their gratitude to the volunteers. “It’s like living in a new house,” said Elissa. “The plumbing and everything works. I love my new kitchen and being able to take a shower in my master bath is incredible. The whole remodel is amazing, and I’m sure my healing process will go better now.”
Two year old Hailey Horan enjoys her new bedroom set and bright pink room that was remodeled by volunteers from McCarthy Building Companies and local subcontractors.
About McCarthy Heart Hats
The McCarthy “Heart Hats” community involvement program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play. McCarthy employees are as passionate about building better communities as they are about construction. In addition to recognizing outstanding employee volunteers and providing a company-wide paid volunteer day, McCarthy “Heart Hats” donates countless hours of in-kind services and monetary contributions to improve communities each year. Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the nation’s largest construction firms. In addition to Newport Beach, McCarthy has offices in San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas; St. Louis and Atlanta. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.
