This Bessemer family recently got a new home thanks to one local company

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It wasn’t long ago that “barn raisings” were a common way communities came together to help their members raise a structure they couldn’t on their own. Thanks to a modern-day continuation of this tradition, Bessemer’s Coleman family now has a home they can call their own.

Keep reading to find out how more than 400 Protective employees and friends came together to build the Coleman family’s new home with Habitat for Humanity, and how the process changed them.  

But first, the Colemans’ home by the numbers

The home was built to honor longtime retiring Protective board member John McMahon and the years he spent helping to build the company into what it is today.  

According to Lori Dixon, Associate Vice President of Protective Life Foundation, what they initially thought would be a week-long commitment of volunteering on part of a house turned into eight weeks when Rich Bielen, Protective’s President and CEO, committed the company to build an entire house, start to finish.  

  Here’s the project by the numbers: 

• 8-week build, with Protective’s volunteers contributing all but three days of labor 
• 400+ Protective employees involved  
  • Protective’s volunteers represented 15 different states + a total of 3,073 volunteer hours 
  • Total volunteer count: 500+, including volunteers from The University of Alabama + PNC Bank  

In a follow-up survey with Protective volunteers: 

• 80% met an employee they had never met before 
• 33% met someone from their department for the first time in person 

On the construction site, employees loved having the opportunity to interact with each other in person, especially given that 65% of Protective’s workforce is fully virtual and located across the U.S. 

Many volunteers thought it was the best Protective volunteer project to date with potentially the greatest positive impact, according to Dixon. 

Getting started on Protective’s Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham house build 

Dixon explained that Protective planned the whole project, working hand in hand with Habitat for Humanity. Each morning, a bus transported volunteers from the office to the house and back. 

Temps reached 105 on the August day Protective’s senior leadership team started the project.

To keep everyone healthy and comfortable in the heat, they had tents with water, Gatorade, snacks, misters, chairs and more.

Building the home 

Volunteers had an opportunity to showcase their skills in a new way and learn new ones during the home build.  

Handing over the keys to the new home 🔑 

When Rich Bielen handed over the keys to the single mother who heads the Coleman family, she became quite emotional and very grateful for everything the company had done to support her family.  

In December, the mom came to Protective HQ with two of her four children. Employees who were unable to attend the house dedication were happy to meet the family and present the children with bicycles and helmets.  

“I would encourage other companies to do this because it has such a positive impact on employees and on the community. Building a home in its entirety—from the concrete foundation to a landscaped yard—is an amazing and rewarding experience. 

Habitat has a new subdivision in Bessemer that will include almost 300 homes, so there’s plenty of work to do.”  

—Lori Dixon, Associate Vice President, Protective Life Foundation 

Work for a company that believes in giving back to the community. Protective is hiring.  

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Protective refers to Protective Life Corporation and insurance company subsidiaries Protective Life Insurance Company (Nashville, TN) and Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company (Birmingham, AL). Protective is a registered trademark of Protective Life Insurance Company.