Kevin Shapiro, Roberta Rothman and Josh Pertnoy
Wellington, FL – January 25, 2012 – On January 16, 2012, our nation’s Day of Service, the Shapiro-Pertnoy Companies completed their third annual Shapiro-Pertnoy MLK Day of Service. With the help of several subcontractors, local businesses and volunteers, Kevin Shapiro and Josh Pertnoy led the initiative for social action as the group helped local Royal Palm Beach resident Roberta Rothman. It was supposed to be a simple surgery, but October 27, 2011, was the day that a neck surgery changed Rothman’s life.
After waking from surgery, she discovered that she could not feel anything on the left side of her body, and she soon was confined to a wheelchair. It was brought to the cousins’ attention that Rothman was incapacitated by the consequences of neck surgery to help relieve compression in her spine and neck. She had awakened from surgery with a rare disease known as Brown-Séquard syndrome.
The Shapiro-Pertnoy Day of Service is an event that offers an outlet for others to perform social action for those in need. After doing a thorough evaluation of the house, Kevin and Josh concluded that the work that needed to be done would involve widening doors, expanding the shower and building wheelchair ramps. Although the Shapiro-Pertnoy Companies have always made philanthropy an essential part of their personal and business lives, their Day of Service helps bring volunteers and subcontractors together to better the lives of those in need on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Since its creation, the number of volunteers and subcontractors has grown exponentially, truly capturing the importance of this altruistic endeavor.
Gardenscapes donated many materials as well as their time to assist with the beautification of the landscape surrounding Rothman’s house. They trimmed numerous trees, removed dead plants and added new ones providing more color, and laid down mulch. With the help of the Southampton Companies, new tile was donated for installation in Rothman’s bathroom, and Colonial Decorators painted the bathroom and the expanded doorways. Local business Lutina’s Pizza Wellington donated pizza for lunch to those volunteering—over 40 in total. Volunteers from Insurance & Financial Services Group worked in tandem with Denise Meyer and Gale Karofsky, amongst others, with hands on maintenance tasks, cleaning, and organizing the garage and interior of the house.
“This day was created to help others reach out in ways that were possibly not provided prior,” Pertnoy concluded. “Without all of the help these amazing people donated, the Shapiro-Pertnoy Companies would not be able to make such a large impact for those in need on this day.”