Local company gives time to help others in need

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - A local restoration company has been hard at work taking time away from their regular jobs to help their community.  

Helping people in tough situations is what Idaho Fire and Flood Restoration is good at, but this time,  instead of restoring homes, they are restoring hope.

"It's been a really cool atmosphere on probably one of the most fun things I've ever done at Idaho Fire and Flood," Bret McGhie of Idaho Fire and Flood Restoration said.

 And it's all to help someone else. Idaho Fire and Flood Restoration recently shut down regular business for a few days to build new beds and dressers to help teens in need. 

The project started after a chance encounter at the gym.

"And I see the one of the gals that runs the Bannock Youth Foundation every morning at the gym, and I asked her, 'hey, do you guys need any help?' And her eyes lit up and she's like, 'yes, we need new bunk beds, and we need new dressers,'" Dallan Lewis said.

"Dallan took that back his team. And we thought maybe they'd do a couple beds or a couple dressers, and he had notified us back that he was they were going to do all of those for us all 14," Bannock Youth Foundation associate director Leslie Foltz said. "We have the ability to take 14 teens, and so that is a huge deal for us."

And so the Idaho Fire and Flood teams from Pocatello and Idaho Falls got to work. They're used to helping people in need responding to disasters, but this time, the designing, drilling and painting put some pretty big smiles on their faces. 

"It's amazing," McGhie said. "Every single day we go and respond to payroll and people's houses, businesses and everywhere else. And so to be able to pull it together and be able to take a couple of days and truly give back to the community that were a part of is a huge deal to all of our team members."

It was a huge deal for the Bannock Youth Foundation as well. They say the need was so great, and the gift is so appreciated.

"The kids are loving it. They love the bug beds, they set high and so they're loving every minute of it," Foltz said. "And then for us, you know, just knowing the community we live in, that's a huge dip for for me and why I choose to live here.

As is the case with most service, the people giving the gift, get an even bigger one in return.

"It feels good to know that this is directly impacting their lives every single day," Lewis said.

Idaho Fire and Flood does a big service project every year, but they say this one was extra special.