Michigan Carpenters and Millwrights Union Donates $20,000 to the Schrauger Home Project

Waterford, MI - Jan. 8, 2008 - The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights has donated $20,000 to help fund the construction of a new home for a Lake Orion family beset by tragedy.

The cash donation is in addition to the labor being provided at no cost by union members who will be framing the home for Cliff and Vicki Schrauger later this month, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said.

"These are a great bunch of guys who are committed to making their communities better places to live," Patterson said. "They're very generous with their time and resources. People like this ensure the success of the Schrauger Home Project."

On Oct. 30, Patterson announced the creation of "The Schrauger Home Project," which assembled a group of concerned business owners and citizens to build a home for the Schraugers of Lake Orion. Two of their sons, Joshua, 17, and Timothy, 14, were killed in a traffic accident in Clinton County on Sept. 29. The brothers were on their way to meet some friends at a sesquicentennial farm where an annual party was taking place. Both boys were students at Lake Orion High School.

A third son, David, 24, is a U.S. Army specialist who was seriously injured on Father's Day when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle. He suffered, leg, arm, spine and lung injuries and has undergone multiple surgeries. More surgeries are planned.
The Schraugers also lost their home to foreclosure several months ago. The goal of the effort is to get the family in the new home in six months, mortgage free. No taxpayer money is being used to build the home. Patterson did not know the family before the tragedies.

Doug Buckler, executive secretary treasurer of the 18,000-member Detroit-based union, said the donation was another demonstration of how the carpenters and millwrights are committed to their communities. The union builds as many as 40 wheelchair ramps a year at no cost to the recipient.

"This was a simple one," Buckler said. "Around the holidays it feels good to give. With Brooks Patterson leading the effort, we knew it was a legitimate project.  We are union guys who like to give back to the community."

Clarkston builder Forrest Milzow is heading up construction on the project. The walls have been poured and basement footings are expected in the next week, weather permitting.

Those who are interested in donating goods or services can go to a website created for the project: www.oakgov.com/house. The site includes a registry of items needed to complete the project. More than 90 percent of the needed items and services have been donated. The site also suggests others ways to help. The site is updated as donations of goods and services are made. The donors' names are also listed unless they wish to remain anonymous.

The Oakland County site also links to a website created by the Community Bible Church in Waterford to accept donations for the family. Contributions made through the church allow them to be considered a charitable write-off for tax purposes.

Cliff Schrauger, who is a minister, said his family is overwhelmed by the love and support the community has shown his family. Besides David, the couple has another son, Stephen, who is a student at Saginaw Valley State University, and a daughter, Kristina, who is a school teacher in North Carolina.