Every year on Nov. 11, our country honors and celebrate the veterans who have sacrificed their time, bodies, and health for our freedom. While many home builders and nonprofits help veterans year-round, Veterans Day brings a host of good news and support for these brave individuals.
Reaching a milestone of 75 mortgage-free homes built through the Built to Honor program, PulteGroup is presenting U.S. Army Sgt. David Speights with the keys to his new home at Pulte’s Whitewing Trails community in Princeton, Texas, today. After the surprising news in April and groundbreaking in May, Speights and his family will see their completed four-bedroom home for the first time at the dedication event.
“It is an honor and privilege to gift this home to one of our nation’s heroes as an expression of our gratitude for his service to our country, and is especially meaningful on Veterans Day,” says Bryan Swindell, president of PulteGroup’s Dallas division. “We are proud to welcome Sgt. Speights and his family to their new home, and hope it will be a source of joy, comfort and a place to create wonderful memories together.”
As the sixth Built to Honor house in the Dallas area, the Speights home will be delivered in partnership with Building Homes for Heroes, a national nonprofit committed to bringing renewed hope and service to injured veterans. PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program honors returning military members who have been injured during their term of service by providing mortgage-free homes.
Lightening the Load
Today, 1,000 veterans will receive surprise rental and mortgage payment assistance for the month of December through The Home Depot Foundation. Some of the veterans receiving assistance previously faced homelessness before securing permanent supportive housing operated by foundation partners including U.S. VETS, Volunteers of America, and Quest Communities.
"This housing payment assistance is just one of the ways The Home Depot Foundation and the company are committed to supporting and thanking those who served our nation," says Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO of The Home Depot. "With more than 35,000 veteran, active military and military spouse associates, we're deeply invested in serving the military community through the Foundation's mission to provide safe and affordable housing and skilled trades training opportunities to veterans, as well as through the company's programs and benefits that support veteran associates and customers."
In addition to helping the 1,000 veterans today, The Home Depot Foundation has granted nearly $14.5 million in new funding to support nonprofit partners that primarily support veteran housing initiatives across the country. Operation Homefront has received more than $2.2 million in funding to provide over 200 veterans with improved housing through repairs, financial assistance, and transitional housing.
Semper Fi & America's Fund will support more than 260 home repairs, modifications and adaptations for veterans with service-connected disabilities through the foundation’s $2.5 million grant. The foundation also granted $2.5 million to Habitat for Humanity International for 130 critical home repairs for veterans through the Repair Corps program.
"Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has been instrumental in our efforts to serve those who have bravely served our country," says Julie Laird Davis, vice president of corporate and cause marketing partnerships at Habitat for Humanity International. "Their generosity will enable us to identify and help even more veterans whose homes are in critical need of repair, as well as provide opportunities for service members transitioning from the military to utilize their skills and build affordable housing in their communities."
Joining the missions of the Home Builders Institute (HBI) and Habitat for Humanity, a $1.6 million grant will fund a new program that brings the HBI and Path to Pro together with local Habitat affiliates around 10 military bases. Path to Pro students will be able to build new homes alongside future Habitat homeowners and receive on-the-job training while creating affordable housing in the military communities.
Supporting Home Improvements
Nonprofit Building Homes for Heroes builds and renovates quality homes and gifts them to severely injured veterans nationwide, mortgage free. Flooring distributor Galleher has announced partnership with Building Homes for Heroes to provide GemCore flooring in the new or renovated homes. The first home with all new donated floors by Galleher was recently completed in The Villages, Florida.
"We are thankful to everyone at Galleher for their partnership to provide resilient flooring to our veteran's homes," notes Andy Pujol, executive director of Building Homes for Heros. "The support of companies like Galleher and its high-quality GemCore flooring products enable our organization to help more injured veterans in need and support them as they begin to rebuild their lives."
Added Security
The national nonprofit Homes For Our Troops (HFOT), which builds and donates specially adapted custom homes to severely injured post-9/11 veterans, recently announced a partnership with Ring to increase security of HFOT homes. Donating 1,000 devices and funds, Ring’s collaboration will complement the over 40 adaptions in HFOT homes that increase accessibility.
“We are excited Ring has chosen to partner with us. The new devices will provide an extra layer of security to our homes. We are grateful Ring has made our veterans’ safety their priority,” says HFOT president and CEO and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Tom Landwermeyer.
HFOT and Ring celebrated their collaboration with a virtual event to discuss the importance of nonprofit and corporate partnerships with Ring and Amazon employees, hosted by HFOT director of development Chris Mitchell, HFOT veteran home recipient Army Staff Sgt. Randall Clay Young, and John Quintas, director of Inclusive Communities at Amazon.
“Amazon is proud to support veterans and this collaboration is one of the many ways we will continue to invest in our nation’s heroes and their families,” says Quintas. “As a 29-year Air Force veteran and in my current role at Amazon, I am constantly looking for ways to drive positive, lasting change for veterans as they transition back to civilian life. We hope that this device and monetary donation will bring added comfort and support to veterans who have done so much for all of us.”
