On August 9th, 2021, time stood still for JP Pringle, a downtown Harrisonburg community member, as his home went up in flames in a devastating fire. While one of JP’s friends, Jim, was helping clear scorched belongings at the local landfill, he ran into Barry Kelley of Matchbox Realty, where they discussed the tragic event. Barry recognized JP as a familiar face in the community and could see how heavily his situation was weighing on him. Having connections to several downtown businesses, Barry immediately started thinking of ways Matchbox could offer support to JP, whose home was beyond repair.
The Origin of Team Pringle
For Barry, it wasn’t a question of whether Matchbox would assist in the rebuild, it was a matter of how we could coordinate this effort. Matchbox, along with several other members of the community, named our organized effort Team Pringle. Our mission was to rebuild a comfortable place for JP to call home once again. Though this isn’t something Matchbox does every day, it fits within our mission of connecting people with property. It isn’t uncommon for Matchbox to participate in community outreach projects, but JP’s project in particular had a serious impact on Barry and the Pringle Project team.
Coming Together For the Cause
The cost of rebuilding his home in today’s climate seemed nearly impossible. However, we were able to coordinate with local businesses, who offered their services to gut JP’s home, redo plumbing, insulation, HVAC, flooring, roofing, and essentially provide a brand new home for JP after the loss he endured.
A Domino Effect of Good Will
When experiencing something devastating, you hope that your community has your back. Matchbox Realty is passionate about helping local people, businesses, and properties in the Harrisonburg community. JP and the Pringle project was no exception. We would like to thank every individual and business that donated their time and resources to this project. In order to create a better community, we all must lend a helping hand when called. We hope that community projects like this will start a domino effect and make more projects like this possible.
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