This month we invited Kristi Gibbs, national executive director/CEO and founder of Construction Angels to come by and give us an update. We personally introduced our newer staff members to Kristi and discussed how we have supported the charity since inception and how they can get involved now.

If you are unfamiliar with Construction Angels, they are a non-profit charity that responds to construction families in need of assistance when a disaster happens, a construction fatality. They provide financial aid, grief counseling referrals, safety awareness, industry fatality awareness, and scholarship funding.

We asked Kristi how we could help. She discussed the upcoming second annual online National Auction and the need for donations, and she called for buyers to go online and bid on the donated items from November 8 to 12.

Below are links to the many ways you can help:

• State or National Sponsor: https://www.constructionangels.us/state-sponsorship/

• Payroll Deduction Program: https://www.constructionangels.us/payroll-deduction-form/

• Giving Tuesday: https://www.constructionangels.us/givingtuesday/

• One-Time Donations: https://www.constructionangels.us/one-time-donation/

• Reoccurring Donations: https://www.constructionangels.us/monthly-recurring-donation/

• Amazon Smile: https://www.constructionangels.us/amazon-smile/

• Local and National Events: https://www.constructionangels.us/florida-events/

At the top of her wish list was for more vertical building contractors to get involved. She shared with us her excitement at Gilbane becoming a national sponsor and how she and the board do not understand why more of the real estate developers and general contractors doing vertical projects don’t take the lead in showing their support. If you are one of those developers or builders, maybe you can answer if it’s that you just don’t know about this all-important charity or whether it’s another reason?

Construction Angels is bringing safety awareness to the forefront by sharing what no company wants to have to deal with: the cost of a death on a worksite.

Construction Angels, founded in 2011, is now in 13 of the 50 states. Kristi has a goal to be in 50 states by the time she reaches 50 years old, eight years from now. An article ENR shared in December 2020 stated, “Construction workplace fatalities continued to rise, reaching a 12-year-high in 2019, and the industry’s fatal-injury rate also turned upward, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.”

An article from BigRentz lists the statistics and sources:

1. One in five deaths among US workers is in the construction industry. [OSHA]
2. Of the 42 annual crane-related deaths, around 60% involve a falling object. [BLS]
3. A total of 1,061 construction workers diedon the job in 2019. [BLS]
4. Each year, 9.7 of every 100,000 construction workers suffer a fatal injury, which is the fourth-highest rate of any industry. [BLS]
5. Falls account for 33% of all construction deaths, and eliminating falls in construction would save more than 300 lives every year. [BLS]
6. The “Fatal Four” leading causes of construction deaths (falls, struck by equipment, caught in between, and electrocutions) account for over 60% of all construction-related deaths. [OSHA]

For any of us in the construction industry who have known a company who had a jobsite fatality, we know the havoc it plays on the hearts of everyone, especially those closest to the victim or “fallen angel.” Construction Angels can be there to help the victims’ families in their time of need—if they have the support and funds to do so. Will you help them? You can learn more about those already providing support here.

The families of the fallen need your support too! Will you help Kristi reach her goal of helping not only in 13 states but also nationwide by the year 2030? You can reach Kristi direct at 754-330-7220 or feel free to call me at 305-361-0094 if I can help you learn how to get involved.

Will You Help?

Suzanne Breistol