Rick’s entry – Time Travel

Four weeks ago, though it feels like yesterday, was the first time I tried to explain the scope of this year’s PolyHouse to a contractor friend of mine, his simple response “You’re out of your mind if you think that’s going to happen.” Three weeks ago I sat in as the Construction Team developed our first estimated timeline for project completion and thought to myself “We’re out of our minds if we think that’s going to happen.” Since that point I’ve seen the hard labor of 28 college students result in minor miracles, I’ve seen those students triumph over potentially disastrous setbacks and very recently I’ve seen and felt an overwhelming sense of confidence that this project is on track.

Through the blur of the past weeks I have seen amazing dedication and determination from students and donors far beyond what has been asked or required of them. I have come to see PolyHouse not as “magic” or a “miracle,” but the product of countless hours of labor, soliciting phone calls, and sleepless nights put in by a group of people who absolutely refuse to let this project fail in any way.

Last Wednesday I stood on site as my new buddies from Arbor First removed a few trees in the way of our progress and made the first physical alterations to the Todd’s property. This weekend I will stand on that same ground where those trees fell as the next vital steps are taken towards the complete overhaul of the property. Nineteen days from today I will be standing in front of the Todd’s new home and saying “Wow, we actually did that.”

-Rick Marcks

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Mike’s Entry – Protective Weather Structures Comes Through in a Big Way!

PWS inc. is a local manufacturer of steel structures.  They make garages, barns, r.v. canopies and other types of structures.  It is a family run business, and I have had the pleasure over the last week of meeting with the CEO on multiple occasions.  The end result was unbelievable.  We received one of our largest donations to date.  They are donating a brand new garage/workshop for the Todd family!  This will really help create extra storage space for the family, as well as provide Simon a place to work on projects.  We are very excited about this donation and what it will mean for the project and the family in the long term.  Another big win for Poly House!

-Mike Minasian

Project Manager

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Dan’s entry – Pancakes for everyone!

This morning we held a pancake breakfast fundraiser at the local Applebee’s restaurant. Now, it should be mentioned that I am not a morning person and I when I first heard that I would be waking up at 7 am on a Sunday in order to work a pancake breakfast fundraiser I was not too thrilled. Again, I am not a morning person. That being said, today was one of the best days that I’ve experienced working on the project so far. There were so many people that showed up; we kept running out of pancakes! I was blown away by the turnout, and I was amazed at the overwhelming generosity of our family and friends. Over the past week, there have been numerous times where I felt overwhelmed by the scope of this project, and there was a part of me that thought that we would be unable to pull it off. I was convinced that we would not be able to raise enough money to cover some of the expenses, but after today, I am starting to really believe in the so-called “Polyhouse Magic”. I don’t want it to seem like I think we are already there with the donations, but I do have a renewed sense of confidence. I just want to thank everyone that came out this morning for helping us—it really means a lot!

-Dan

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