Drexel Building Supply introduced the PAULS Program, a charitable build-one-give-one program providing Drexel clients with the opportunity to shelter a family in need across the world. To participate in the program, builders or homeowners commit to building a single-family home using Drexel’s design, supply, and offsite construction services. Once the home project is approved, Drexel will sponsor a newly-built home for a family in need through its nonprofit partner, Overture International.
Overture’s mission is to empower families in Haiti living in extreme poverty through sustainable social, community, and economic development. To kickstart the PAULS Program, Drexel has donated eight homes, one for each of its Wisconsin locations. Haiti will be the first international community to receive aid from the PAULS Program.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Drexel Building Supply to expand the opportunities for housing, jobs, and skill building to the people of Haiti,” Lisa Hyatt, executive director of Overture International, said in a prepared statement. “Collaboration is one of Overture’s key strategies, and working with partners like Drexel makes our mission of sustainable development in Haiti even more achievable.”
PAULS, which stands for “People Advanced in Using Lumber Systems,” was started after a conversation between Drexel Building Supply president Joel Fleischman and longtime customer Paul Krause. Fleischman and Krause, who was in the late stages of terminal cancer, had a conversation about offsite construction. Krause said he believed offsite construction would be a boon to the industry, particularly for small home builders.
Shortly after the conversation, Fleischman conceived a charitable operation that would encourage offsite construction.
“There was no doubt in my mind. We would move forward with an offsite construction initiative,” Fleischman said. “And when we pulled it off, we would call it PAULS in his honor.
Information on participation and program guidelines are available on the PAULs Program website.
