Help Keep This Latino-Owned Business Afloat

Hello.  This is Dan Schreiber and Laurie Mittenthal, and we are fundraising on behalf of the Borrego brothers (Jose, Edgar and Luis) and their business, LBR Landscaping, which we hired recently to landscape our yard. LBR is a Latino-owned family business based here in Boulder, CO.

 

The Borrego brothers have been steadily building their business since they went out on their own in 2015, after spending years working for others. They saved money for several years in order to purchase an expensive, multi-purpose trenching/digging machine in 2019 (The Switch Witch SK-800 Mini-Skid Steer - $40,000). This game-changing machine allowed them to stop digging holes and trenches by hand (painstaking, time-consuming work) and cut the time they spent on each job by more than half. The increased productivity allowed them to be more competitive and take on more jobs. However, two and a half months ago – on June 21 – their trenching machine was stolen from a job site. If that wasn’t bad enough, the theft occurred on what happened to be Father’s Day AND Luis Borrego’s birthday. The brothers thought their business insurance would cover the loss but when they went to make a claim, they were informed that their policy didn’t cover this kind of machinery. They are now back to trenching and digging holes by hand. As a result, all of their jobs are delayed and backlogged, putting their business and reputation at risk. They plan to save up to buy another machine eventually, but right now the bulk of their money is going toward the purchase of storage space for their trucks and other equipment, also a necessity to keep their business afloat. Remaining funds are sent back to family in Mexico.

 

It has been disheartening to watch ten men who, a few months ago, could turn a key and dig a trench in a few minutes, now have to swing a pickax for hours a day instead. The fact that years of hard work and savings could be undone in a few minutes by thieves is unacceptable.

 

We only learned of the Borrego Brothers’ situation after asking them why they did everything by hand – they did not volunteer their story on their own, but simply went about their work with the tools they had. They were professional and maintained a positive attitude from beginning to end – and they did a fantastic job.

 

The Borrego brothers are attempting to live the American Dream. They were on their way to building a strong and stable business, through hard work and savings, only to be dealt this potentially crippling setback. We would like to help them put their business back on solid ground, and hope that you will join us. Our goal is to raise $42,000 (the funds above the $40,000 machine cost are to cover the fees from

GoFundMe), which will cover the cost of a new machine.

 

We’ve contributed the initial $2,500 to launch the fund. Please help us raise the additional $39,500. Any contribution, big or small, will help. We hope to raise the funds as soon as possible, since every day without this piece of equipment hurts their business. If you have any questions or want more details, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

Thank you!

 

Sincerely,

 

Dan Schreiber + Laurie Mittenthal