- Today Online
Simsbury ABC receives amazing roof donation
Updated: Dec 15, 2022
• Simsbury ABC House Is Gifted Free Roof
This article first appeared in the December 2022 edition of Today Magazine, our monthly publication
Editor’s Note • Your favorite Top 40 song might not be “Up on the Roof” and your favorite musical might not be “Fiddler on the Roof” — but this story might cheer you up, to the bottom of your heart, right in time for the holidays
Special to Today Magazine
IMAGINE THAT YOU are sitting in your home, and you hear a knock at the door. You answer and the owner of a roofing company says he noticed that you need a new roof — and he and his company will roof your house at no cost to you.
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You are surprised because for several years you have experienced occasional roof leaks and wondered how you would be able to afford the new roof that is needed.
This was the situation facing Simsbury ABC when Jim Carroll, president and CEO of JP Carroll Roofing, knocked on the door. He offered to replace the roof on the Simsbury ABC residence located at 835 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury, free of charge.
The house was built in 1812 and has had several additions that led to a large, complicated roofing project valued at $30,000.
The Simsbury ABC (A Better Chance) program is a nonprofit organization “making a difference in the lives of academically talented young men of color from underserved communities,” according to the Simsbury ABC website.
The program’s mission is “to increase the number of well-educated minority men who graduate from college and assume positions of responsibility and leadership in their careers,” per the website. The program operates entirely on donations at no cost to the students and their families.
“The students come from school systems around the country that would impair their chances to achieve their potential,” says Simsbury ABC board president Robert Pearce. “We provide room, board and supervision, and see them through four years at Simsbury High School at no cost to their parents.”
Established in 1973, Simsbury ABC has graduated more than 85 students — and 90% of them have completed college in four years. These days, the national average for four-year graduates is about 60%.
Jim Carroll established his business in 1987 as a home-builder and transitioned to roofing in the early 1990s. Bloomfield-based JP Carroll Roofing specializes in high-quality roofing services — both residential and commercial — plus siding, gutters and windows.
“We take our work very seriously because we value the welfare of our customers and their homes,” says Carroll, who is president of the Connecticut Roofing Contractors Association.
He believes in building a business that is customer-focused and community-driven — as evidenced by his generous gift to Simsbury ABC this autumn. +
www.simsburyabetterchance.org • 860-264-6188
www.jpcarrollroofing.com • 860-586-8857