Scottsdale Garage Door Business Donating Water To Local Food Bank

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — What started as an act of kindness has evolved into a labor of love for Ray Dal Soglio and his family.

Dal Soglio, who runs Scottsdale's A Always Open Garage Doors alongside his father, Mark Sr., and brother, Mark Jr., has helped spearhead the company's ongoing donation campaign with St. Mary's Food Bank.

The partnership, which launched in October, began with Dal Soglio and his family offering to donate a package of bottled water for each garage door the family-owned business installed.

Fast-forward seven months, and the company's efforts have resulted in an average of 1,800 pounds of bottled water being donated to the Phoenix-based food bank each month.

It's a partnership that St. Mary's Food Bank Director of Public Relations Jerry Brown calls a huge boost for those in need, especially given the scorching summer months that are fast approaching.

“For a food bank in Arizona, there is no more precious commodity in the summer months than drinking water," Brown said in an email sent to Patch. "For the hundreds of agency partners that St. Mary’s serves, keeping those in need and especially the homeless population hydrated with temperatures routinely eclipsing 100 and even 110 degrees is literally a matter of life and death.

"Donations of water from individuals and large-scale donations from local business are key to our ability to provide water for families who struggle.”

For Dal Soglio, the donation campaign was second-nature, especially given the ongoing need for philanthropy in the region, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact so many Arizonans.

"It all started with us just wanting to give back," Dal Soglio told Patch. "So we just thought that something easy to do would be to just donate water, obviously. Water is always something that charities need."

Dal Soglio said the company's efforts soon started adding up, as more and more people requested their services during the winter and spring months.

Soon enough, the company had donated 60 pallets worth of bottled water to the food bank, with Dal Soglio and his family soon realizing how much of an impact their simple gesture had generated.

"You know, it sounds small, but at least we want to do something to give back," Dal Soglio said. "We've been fortunate enough, these last few years, business has been going well and we're looking for a way to give back.

"And we wanted something that was more consistent than just donating money."

Dal Soglio added that the company has seen an overwhelmingly positive reaction from its customer base, as they can take solace in the fact that their money is going toward a local cause.

It's a cause that's near and dear to Dal Soglio and his family, who have operated A Always Open Garage Doors out of Scottsdale for more than 20 years.

"It makes our customers feel better, that they're kind of contributing in an indirect way as well, to help out the food bank," Dal Soglio said.

Above all, Dal Soglio said he and his family's goal is to provide a gesture of good will for those going through hard times, so they know that someone's in their corner, regardless of the circumstance.

"The thing that's most important to me is just to help people, even if it's just the littlest thing," Dal Soglio said. "Just to provide water or food, those little things. In those tough times, those items really can mean the most."