CONSTRUCTION CAN be a sweaty, dirty job, and shed manufacturing is no different. But Matthew Black of Blacks Buildings isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty for his business or for the community. As a modular certified home builder, Blacks Buildings constructs sheds, outbuildings, barns, and other portable structures. The company’s long history of generosity includes other construction projects as well.
“We try to do a lot of things for our community, just individually as our leadership team, and then things that we do kind of out in public,” Black said. “A couple [of] weeks ago, my sales manager came to me, and he was like, ‘Hey, Matt, we’ve got this situation — this man’s on a limited budget, his daughter is in a wheelchair, they need something to get by.’”
The family had enough money for a building but not for a wheelchair ramp. Making such a ramp compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act is not a simple job, and it needed to be almost 60 feet long. Together, Black and his sales manager went out and built that ramp. They did that, Black said, because it gives a different value to the work.
“It’s so easy to write a check for things when you see people in need,” Black said. “It’s a different grind to get there and actually solve the need.”
When Hurricane Helene hit East Tennessee and North Carolina, Blacks Buildings got together with others in the community to send supplies to the affected areas. The effort was spearheaded by one of Black’s employees, Gene Atkinson, and they managed to send multiple large U-Hauls soon after the hurricane struck.
“There’s a time of a week or two after incidents like this where it’s just so hard for people because people are trying to organize stuff — but maybe that doesn’t happen for three [or] four weeks,” Black said. “We tried to hit it as quickly as we could and got some goods out there, and I know it blessed a lot of people.”
Black loves every type of giving, whether it is done personally or as a community effort. Any time there is a spirit of giving, Black said, he wants to be involved. Often, Black’s entire family is a part of it. For the past three years, Blacks Buildings has done a big Christmas event, giving gifts to kids in the community — Black’s whole family is at the giveaway handing out presents. For Black, each event is a tremendous blessing — the joy of giving is much greater than the joy of receiving, Black said. For his kids, however, each event is a teaching moment, as it is important to Black and his wife, Ashlee, that his children are able to give back.
“My kids are extremely blessed, but they are also very well grounded,” Black said. “They assist in picking out the toys and handing them out. Not every kid likes the same stuff, and they help to make sure that each kid gets something that they like.”
Blacks Buildings does a lot in the community, but Black said it isn’t that the business does the work but that the business supports the work he, his family, and his co-workers do. Their generosity with their time and labor, as well as their money, is an inspiration — especially to those who don’t have money to give. After all, there is more than one way to be generous.
“To me, the time is really where it’s at,” Black said. “You want the real joy? Put your boots on the ground and go out there and do it yourself.” GN
