Several months ago, a Villa Park family was in the midst of personal and financial crisis.

The head of the household had just endured the death of her brother and mother. Financially strapped, she had not made a house mortgage payment since April and the home is in danger of being foreclosed.

To compound those difficulties, a mold-infested basement had created a health hazard that was only getting worse for the single mother of three ranging in age from 16 to 23.

A friend issued a plea for help—and soon discovered a new friend in J.C. Restoration, a Rolling Meadows-based company that provided upwards of $8,000 worth of pro bono work.

The effort came together after a longtime friend of the family, Linda Pietrzak, approached company president Warner Cruz.

“A friend of mine who knows Warner, and knows his character and values and heart, recommended I contact him and see if he’d be willing to help out in some way,” Pietrzak recalled. “He called me back the same day, very upbeat and warm and friendly and openhearted. There was never a sense of me being a bother.”

Within a few weeks of Pietrzak making that initial call, Jason Birns, the Claims Management Director with J.C. Restoration, arrived about 7 a.m. on a Saturday and met with the family. They were joined by about six others from her church, Harvest Bible Chapel of Rolling Meadows.

Seeking to maximize the group’s safety and efficiency, Birns advised them on how to set up an area, known as a cleaning station. There, personal items, ranging from toys to clothes to family heirlooms of all kinds, could be cleaned and disinfected. In addition to boxes and tape for storing items, Birns also provided gloves, respirators, and other protective gear.

“A lot of the customary expense is the time and labor that goes into it,” Birns noted. “To go through someone’s storage, remove it all, wipe it all by hand, and then re-store it safely, you really have to pay attention to detail.”

A few weeks after the basement was cleared out, a J.C. Restoration crew comprised of Ricardo Rosales, Alvaro Oviedo and Juan Carlos Oviedo removed paneling and drywall behind the panels in the basement. The paneling and drywall had gotten wet in many places, contributing significantly to the mold problem that had developed over the years and created a severe health hazard.

Once they sealed the affected area, the J.C. Restoration crew conducted a post-remediation air clearance test that revealed the air quality had improved sufficiently for health purposes.

The crew worked under the supervision of Edwin Dardon, the Emergency Services Division manager, and Mark Hathaway, the Environmental Services Division manager.

Although their efforts won’t enable the family to remain in the home, the remediation could help them avert foreclosure, Pietrzak said.

“My friend is trying to sell the home through a short sale,” she said. “If J.C. Restoration had not remediated the mold problem, there is no way the home could have been sold.”

As much as J.C. Restoration is continually serving people in need, this assignment was different from the norm because it involved someone who had no insurance coverage that would pay for, or at least defray, the cost.

“It says a lot about Warner and a lot about J.C. Restoration as a company that we would do something pro bono at a time when the economy isn’t doing so great,” Birns said. “The entire experience was really amazing and rewarding for me personally.”

Pietrzak echoed his remarks.

“Without a doubt, it was remarkable what they did,” Pietrzak said. “I think it’s pretty much unheard of, that a company would be willing to donate their services for such a huge project. I was just very grateful for their compassion and for their going extraordinarily over and beyond any expectations.”

In a letter to Cruz, the homeowner also expressed her thanks.

“This has been a very hard time in my life. I have been under so much pressure and felt at times that I could not go on,” she wrote. “God heard my cry and lifted a huge burden from me through your incredible kindness and generosity.”

For more information about J.C. Restoration, visit http://www.jcrestoration.com or http://www.facebook.com/JCRestoration