Empire UPVC & Roofing Specialists, TrustATrader members for over 3 years, came across a man known only as John, sleeping rough on a bench in a London park near a house they were working on. After giving him a cup of tea, the roofers asked if he could help out on site the next day.
The following day, John returned to the house and worked “non-stop”, after which the roofers bought him lunch from a nearby Burger King. John told the workers that £15 “would get him through the week”, but the roofers pulled together £70 between them to pay him for the hard day’s work.
JayJay Murray from Empire, who initially shared the inspiring story on his Facebook page, said: "We started a new job in London on a high road this week where this homeless man called John was living on a bench in the local park.
"We brought him a cup of tea early in the morning and offered him to come and help the next day. He was first on site and worked non-stop. I have never seen anyone so happy to be at work."
He added: "His gratitude was a real eye-opener. Keep going John got to be something good around the corner. Nobody willing to work should be living on the streets."
After Mr Murray first shared the post on Facebook, people have quickly picked up on the kind-hearted story, which has since amassed more than 21,000 likes and been shared over 5,000 times, with people across the social network praising the workers for their kindness in helping out the homeless man.
One user said: "Many homeless people are there due to circumstances beyond their control and would like nothing better than to be working and paying their own bills. Stay strong and a great story of good humankind.", while another called the act “Inspirational humanity”.
Empire has said that several people have come forward offering John a place to stay, upon reading the story.
After sharing the story online, the Hertfordshire-based roofing company said: "We can't believe how this selfless gesture from the Empire team has gone so far. We couldn't be prouder of the team, well-done boys!"
Empire UPVC & Roofing Specialists are a roofing company based in Hertfordshire offering roofing installations, tile roofs, roofing repairs and many other services. You can find out more by visiting their profile here.
Image credit, source: JayJay Murray of Empire UPVC & Roofing Specialists