“I was wanting to do something charity-wise and do something for the community. I was looking around at a bunch of charities and just randomly saw that HeroWork was doing The Mustard Seed [Radical Reno] in the newspaper, so I gave Paul [Latour] a call and got involved right away—and the rest is history.”
Aaron Banks is the owner of A.B. Painting Services, a company he started in 2012, bringing him into his fourth year of business now. Despite his incredibly hectic schedule where he’s up at 5 a.m. most days and can work anywhere up to 17 hours at a time, he still sought out a way that he could do something for his community. This is one impressive and dedicated guy.
Two of the HeroWork painting crew putting on a fresh coat of paint.
In an age when free time is at a premium for most individuals, it really resonates with people when a person uses that spare time to give back and help out with a good cause. That was the case for Aaron with a recent client, as he and his employees had been volunteering with the Radical Reno for Victoria’s Citizens’ Counselling Centre.
“I was working a job with a client during a time between a HeroWork project and she was asking me about what I did and I mentioned that I was doing some volunteer work. On the following Monday I told her more about it and she was really impressed. So towards the end of the job she gave me an envelope with a little bit of money in it to do whatever I chose for HeroWork, maybe something with the people that help out…so I was able to put on a barbeque for the volunteering painters and their families. “
Wallpaper going up at the Citizens’ Counselling Centre.
It’s clear that the story of HeroWork really reaches people in a special way. Though Aaron and the rest of the volunteers don’t volunteer for the vanity, it really means a lot when people express their appreciation for their efforts and goodwill.
I asked Aaron how it felt to get that money and be able to treat his employees who had also helped volunteer with HeroWork. He had this to say, “It felt really good. It’s nice that people care about what they’re doing and that what they’re doing is important. And it’s all volunteer, but it’s nice to just feel that recognition that someone who was on the outside of the renovation and didn’t have to do anything, it didn’t affect her in any way, but she still wanted to do something and show her appreciation for our volunteer efforts.”
Aaron isn’t the only one keen about volunteering with HeroWork. He has clearly built a company of people who share the value and commitment for helping out their community and those in need. When I asked him if his employees were pleased to be a part of HeroWork, he replied, “Oh yes, they are. They love it!”
That’s Aaron on the right, from the Mustard Seed Rad Reno
As someone who has found the volunteer experience to be a rewarding and humbling experience, I asked Aaron if he had a message for anyone thinking about getting involved with HeroWork.
“Yeah, don’t hesitate and get involved right away. It’s a fun and rewarding experience—you’ll look back and feel happy and glad that you took part and there’s all the wonderful people that you get to meet as well, right?”
You can surely look forward to seeing Aaron and his painting crew at an upcoming HeroWork project, along with all the other amazing people taking part!
