LORI FRAHER PROJECT

NBC 5: Chicago Teamsters Give Helping Hand to Mom Who Lost Son to War

Helmets to Hardhats Program Bring Together Unions
to Fix House

Mike Yauger and Art Norman visit Lori Fraher and her friends in Dwight, Illinois.

DWIGHT, Ill. --Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and the Chicago teamsters are combining forces to help a woman who lost her son last March to the war.

Lori Fraher is a Gold Star mom -- an organization of mothers whose children have been killed in the line of duty -- and will soon be getting a helping hand from some union builders who want to aid in getting her life and home back together.She is the pride and joy of Dwight, and is best known for helping strangers but never asking for help herself.

Fraher and her best friends make up the "SOS Sweatshop" -- every day they get together to make quilts by hand for servicemen and -women in Iraq and Afghanstan at no cost to the soldier.

Now, Fraher will be getting some of that good karma back.
Later at a memorial service, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn asked Fraher if she needed anything, and she replied that she needed a new roof. That's when she met Mike Yauger with Teamsters -- he's the president of Local 786.

He showed NBC5 the building inspector's report from Fraher's home, detailing dangerous mold and mildew, gaping holes in the porch awning, and four raccoons still living in the attic of her home.
The bottom line is that Fraher will get about $150,000 of rehab work free.

This article appeared on www.nbc5.com on July 26, 2007. To watch news story from NBC5, go to: http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=134258

To get more information or donate to the Lori Fraher Project, call Teamsters Local 786 at 312-666-2750 or email helmetstohardhats@chicagoteamsters.org.

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