For the last three years our team at Schell Brothers has sponsored and participated in the Help Our Kids RadioThon hosted by Delmarva Broadcasting to benefit the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Children’s Hospital located in Wilmington, Delaware.
At Schell Brothers, we’re always looking for ways to give back to our community. Participating in this annual radiothon for the last three years has been just one way that we as team have been able to do just that. Whether it’s through donating money, or sending our team members up to answer phones for a few hours, it has been an honor to be an active participant in such an amazing event.
After an emotionally exhausting and incredibly exciting two days, we’re happy to announce that with the help of people across Delaware, Maryland, and even Pennsylvania, we were able to raise over a quarter of a million dollars! The money raised will be used towards the hospital’s expansion, which will provide a more comfortable space for the children and their families. Donations will also help in purchasing any necessary equipment that the kids may need while they are at the hospital being treated.
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I speak for everyone here at Schell Brothers when I say how proud we are of our community. With your help we to raised $54,742 more than we did last year, making this year’s total $257,753. Thank you to everyone who donated or volunteered during the event!
If you didn’t get a chance to donate during the RadioThon, and you would still like to, visit our page at SchellBrothers.com/hero and click on the “Make a Donation” link. Remember, you don’t need superpowers to be a hero.
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You’ve heard it time and time again from us, “at Schell Brothers, Happiness is our mission.” You can see it on our billboards, it’s in our ads, it’s in our models, and it’s in our mission statement.
Happiness, for us, is achieved in all sorts of ways, but the most important way is by giving our homeowners an unbelievable home buying experience, and it doesn’t end once we hand over the keys to your new home. We want our relationship to be long standing and fun! Yes, that’s right, we like to have FUN with our homeowners!
Recently, we had the privilege of hosting some happy hour fun in our Henlopen model home at Senators on Gills Neck Road in Lewes. Over 100 people turned out, from the very first buyers to the recent 100th, and there was no shortage of fun and happiness! The food and wine catered by local Rehoboth Beach restaurant, Big Fish Grill, was delicious as always and the champagne toast that Dan gave to the group was definitely memorable. But, the camaraderie and friendships this community has already established, in such a short amount of time, is incomparable.
Being an employee for Schell at the event and watching our homeowners and other employees interact, I was constantly reminded of just how unique what we have really is.
I enjoyed hearing stories from our homeowners about the first time they visited the community, to stories of, from what I heard was a pretty rockin’ New Years Eve party at a neighbor’s house. Everyone had a story to share with their neighbor. Smiles filled the room as new friends were made and current friendships continued to blossom.
Everyone was truly happy, and it was definitely a fun time, which brings our mission at Schell Brothers full circle. Thank you to all of the Senators homeowners who came out to enjoy the company of neighbors and friends.
From December 2nd to December 13th, Schell Brothers had the privilege to work with Delmarva Broadcasting and Eagle 97.7 in the first ever 12 Days of Christmas Celebration! For 12 days straight, 12 hours a day, Eagle 97.7’s morning show personalities Petch and Paula were stationed right out front of our office collecting all kinds of donations for the Sussex and Kent County Toys for Tots.
Just a few days into the event, DART First State donated the Schell Brothers wrapped 30ft. bus for us to use, which created a new challenge for all of us working on the project. We NEEDED to fill that bus full of toys by the end of the 12 days. We were more than excited that after 57 bikes, over 70 coats, and thousands of toys, not only did we fill the bus, we OVER stuffed it!
Between the cold, the wind, the rain, and even some snow, Mother Nature couldn’t stop our community from rallying together and provided hundreds of kids with a Christmas they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to have.
On behalf of everyone at Schell Brothers, Petch and Paula, and the Eagle 97.7 team we would all like to say THANK YOU for the time that many of you, and many of your companies took to come out and visit us at our office, and donate items to Toys for Tots. It’s truly amazing to see what we can do as a community when we are working together and we hope that you continue, into the new year, to give back to those who need it.
Our mission from the very beginning of the 12 Days of Christmas was to encourage everyone to help us spread the Holiday Cheer this season, and I think it’s safe to say, Mission Complete.
Happy Holidays to all!
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I have to admit when it was first put out to our employees at Schell Brothers that we were participating in a Dragon Boat Race at the first ever Lewes Dragon Boat Festival, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up. Really what I was looking forward to was just spending time with my friends and participating in something that I had never done before, but honestly, what I got out of it was much more.
21 boats registered to race on Sunday all to benefit the Sussex Academy school. Participants included businesses and organizations from all over Sussex County, and really, our competition was pretty steep. Everyone came showing their team spirit with matching t-shirts, bandanas, face paint, and high socks. For our Schell Brothers team, The Schell Fire Breathers, there was some highs and lows throughout our racing, but all in all we came out of it almost on top.
Being in the first heat of the day had its advantages and disadvantages for us. We jumped out in front early, which was great! …However we never slowed to the “race pace” that was taught to us earlier that week in our practice. We tired out in the last leg of the heat, and took second. We gathered back at our “camp” and immediately began to strategize and figure out how we could become more efficient as a team. We developed a plan and our second heat felt a lot better than the first. Unfortunately we weren’t able to pull out a win in that heat either, but…this is where things really changed for us. During that second heat, we met Greg. Greg was a steersman that the race company, Dynamic, provided for us. He was a game changer. Through coaching and as much practice as possible down the canal before we lined up to start the next race, Greg helped our Schell team with technique, form, and synchronization. This proved to be more than helpful during our third heat race. Going into that race we were in 13th place and only top 12 went on to compete in a finals against the clock for first, second and third place overall. We needed to do big things if we wanted a chance to prove what we could do in the finals!
With much anticipation we took our mark to start that last heat. Everyone worked together, and fortunately we were able to get a first place finish, boosting both our confidence and motivation. Greg was much happier with our teamwork that round but knew we still had some refining to do if we were going to place in the finals. Our team waited patiently as a few other heats went before the officials posted the top 12 teams competing in the final race. Narrowly slipping in to that 12th place spot was our Schell Fire Breathers team!! To give you more of an idea of how close these races actually were, there was only 6 seconds separating the fastest time and the slowest time between the Top 12 teams…pretty amazing if you ask me!
We didn’t have much time to be overly excited about making the finals since the races were commencing shortly thereafter. We worked again with Greg on some finishing touches, and when it came time to line up…we went for it, pouring everything we had into that final race!! Our team of 20 showed such strength, passion, desire, and pride during that race it’s hard really to even recall what kind of things were going through our minds. The first heat of the day we posted a 1:40 time…the last one of our day…we posted a 1:15. We were able to knock off about 25 seconds in our race time, which was quite exciting for us in general. Patiently, we stood and watched 3 more races before the official times were posted and places for finishers were set.
After a long, active day, officials started announcing the finishing times of each team in the finals. Team Schell Fire Breathers hung together and were ecstatic to hear them announce us as the Second Place Finisher! We had fought our way from 13th place, to 2nd place all within 3 short races!
While much of the day was exactly what I had hoped for, spending time with friends, and trying something completely new that I had never done before…I found myself reflecting a lot about the events of the day. I can say without a doubt, that it was one of the most fun, and exciting days of Summer 2013. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed as much teamwork and support as I did that day. Not just from our Schell Fire Breathers, but from our entire community! Teams were cheering other teams on, high fiving, and congratulating the winners throughout the day after each race. It was really something special to see. Together, the event raised over $14,000 for the Sussex Academy school and truly created a camaraderie between everyone who not only participated in the race, but simply attended the event. I think I can speak for my teammates when I say we can’t WAIT to do it again next year!
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When Sussex County Habitat for Humanity approached Schell Brothers about sponsoring the Walt Jones Memorial Golf Outing, there wasn’t any hesitation; Chris and Preston definitely wanted to help out. Between Schell Brothers, Echelon Interiors, and the Schell Family Foundation, over $25,000 was donated to Habitat for Humanity to help build affordable housing for families in need right here in Sussex County.
The tournament started in 2005 when Walt Jones and his family donated the Par 3 Golf Course as a location for the Golf Outing in support of Habitat. Since his passing two years ago, the tournament has been carried on by his family and friends and renamed in his honor.
With weather in the low 70’s and the sun shining, it would have been hard to ask for a more perfect day to play golf. Two Schell Brothers teams took to the action on the greens during the day with one of the teams ending in a 4-way tie. Although they didn’t come away with the ultimate win, one of their members, Jill Burton, got the award for closest to the pin. All in all it was a fun, successful day for everyone and I know I personally look forward to shooting the video again next year!!
If you’re interested in participating in next years golf outing, or any of the other events supporting the Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, visit sussexcountyhabitat.org.
