Family surprised with new roof after Revere tornado

REVERE – It was a Publishers Clearing House moment Wednesday when a small group bearing a large poster board sign and a fistful of helium balloons rang the bell at 27 Cummings Ave., but instead of a receiving cash for life, the homeowners received a roof of a lifetime.”I did not expect this,” said Jennifer Valentin upon answering the door. “I knew we were nominated, but I said if there is another family that needs it more, give it to them.”Valentin, who is pregnant with her second child, was holding her 19-month-old daughter, Serenity, in her arms and looked slightly stunned to see the small crowd that included Mayor Daniel Rizzo and City Councilor Anthony Zambuto on her front stoop. She laughed when she heard the news that she had been chosen to receive a free roof.Stephanie Vanderbilt, owner of Coastal Windows & Exteriors, said her company was running a promotion to give away a free roof to a family in Essex County then the tornado hit. Revere isn’t in Essex County, she pointed out, so she went back to her manufacturer and asked for help and Revere Roof Rescue was launched.Working with Rizzo’s office, Vanderbilt solicited nominations from residents of families that needed roof work as a result of the tornado that tore through the city’s central business district on the morning of July 28.”We saw some homes that we couldn’t fix,” Vanderbilt said. “They were beyond what we can do, but this was a really good fit.”Valentin’s was also the only family who received 15 nominations, and each one was a compelling argument in their favor, Vanderbilt said.”All of them kept talking about how the family would give the shirt off their backs to someone who needed it, even though they don’t have a lot, and that they’re always helping the community,” she said.Vanderbilt said she was raised in a very supportive family and was taught to do unto others as they would do unto you, which also why she connected with Valentin and her husband, Clinton Angell.Valentin called her family lucky in that they weren’t home when the tornado hit.”We were dropping off at day care and headed to work,” she said.The storm knocked down trees and filled their backyard with debris, blew out the bathroom skylight and tore a hole through the roof, leaving attic fully exposed.”We didn’t know how bad it was until we looked at the hole in the attic, which is right over (Serenity’s) bedroom,” Valentin said.The family initially learned of the damage after a neighbor called and said they should come home because there were pieces of their roof missing. Angell got home first, and Valentin said she was shocked when she arrived to find the blue tarp already stretched over the front portion of the roof.”He didn’t tell me it was that bad,” she said, referring to Angell.Since then, Valentin said she’s been dealing with insurance companies who have not been overly helpful.She called receiving the roof “a very big relief.”Rizzo said the 15 nominations speak to just what kind of neighbors Valentin and Angell are, “and now people want to help you out.”Rizzo said the rest of the cleanup is going as well as can be expected. He said he knew it was going to take more than a day or two.”It’s a prolonged effort,” he said. “We’re still dealing with a number of public buildings that were damaged worse than initially thought.”Among those is City Hall, which he said will likely need a new roof, and it would be costly.He applauded Vanderbilt and her company for stepping up to help out.”You are one company helping one family,” he said. “We have 15 families displaced and another 65 buildings significantly damaged. There are plenty of opportunities for other companies to come in and help out.”