A commitment from the heart — 1st american builders

Spend just a few minutes talking to Michael Dean Chadwick, CEO of local 1st American Builders, and you can't help but catch his infectious enthusiasm for the work he's doing to help the V Foundation. "Everybody I know, everywhere I go, has been touched — either themselves, a loved one or a friend — by cancer," says Chadwick. "I don't know if we'll find a cure in my lifetime, but I'm going to do everything I can to help make that happen."

Chadwick didn't want to just write a check, he wanted to make a real difference, and what better way to do that than by doing what he and his company do best — build houses. And it was important too, that his project be local in nature. "We at 1st American live and work here in the Triangle," says Chadwick. "This is our home, and this is where we wanted to make a difference."

 
The V Foundation, founded by local legend, beloved championship-winning NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano, was an ideal fit for 1st American's goals. A homegrown organization with worldwide influence. And the project earmarked for the Charity Home is a collaborative breast cancer research grant to two Triangle institutions, Duke's Comprehensive Cancer Center and UNC's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

 
1st American Builders, in partnership with Stock Building Supply and Wakefield Development, has committed to raising $1 million for the Foundation over a decade. Indeed, they are ahead of schedule, reaching the quarter-million-dollar mark in only the first two years.

Chadwick also believes in the value of bringing this opportunity for giving to his entire family of suppliers, subcontractors, customers and friends. "People really do want to give back to their community, to pay it forward," he says. "And it is, in many ways, so much more meaningful to be able to do that by practicing their craft. You know, you give people the chance to do what they know how to do, if you're not careful, you might just raise a lot of money!"

Paul Kerr is a freelance writer