Victor DiGeronimo Jr. has always thought of Independence Excavating Inc. as a part of his extended family. It all began when he was a 6-year-old and decided to check out a ditch repair project that the company was handling on his street.
Young Victor loved being around the people who worked at the company, which included his father, Victor Sr., who is now the company’s chairman.
It’s that sense of family and community that is felt by employees throughout the organization both on the job and when they reach out to help others through the company’s philanthropic efforts.
DiGeronimo Jr., now the company’s president, has helped continue this tradition at Independence Excavating. The company performed an asbestos abatement, demolition and disposal at The Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Cleveland. The work was done in the former convent that housed the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, a structure that had outlived its usefulness and became a drain on the parish’s limited budget.
Independence Excavating also assisted Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit group that works to help low-income homeowners stay in their homes by making needed repairs and doing what needs to be done to make the home livable.
Employees also helped at Providence House in Cleveland, which is Ohio’s first licensed crisis nursery. They gave food, clothes and toys to the children so they could have a nice Christmas. They also assisted the Cleveland Foodbank by collecting more than 4,000 pounds of food and contributing more than $2,600 to help make sure the needy would have plenty of food to eat.
In addition, the DiGeronimo family began organizing a race in 2009 to raise money to fight a rare form of abdominal cancer that afflicted a family member. The race was a huge success with more than 500 participants taking part by either running or walking. The event is hosted by the PMP Research Foundation in Independence Public Square and raised $60,000 to support more research and raise awareness of the disease.
When you add in the grants that the company supports for a number of charitable organizations across the Greater Cleveland area, it seems clear that the heart of Independence Excavating beats strong for its friends and neighbors in the region.
How to reach: Independence Excavating Inc., (800) 524-3478 or www.indexc.com
