"Sgt. Brian Fontaine, Severely Wounded Iraq War Veteran from Dorchester, MA to Receive a Helping Hand from Homes for Our Tr
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
By: Dawn Teixeira

Taunton, Massachusetts based charity heads to Boston to promote community volunteerism and build a handicap accessible home for Sgt. Brian Fontaine.

Dorchester, MA, September 19, 2006 Homes for Our Troops, a Massachusetts based 501 (c)(3) organization that builds and adapts homes for handicap accessibility for our most severely wounded veterans will be reaching out to the local community members to help provide a new home for Sgt. Brian Fontaine.

In Middleboro, Massachusetts, Homes for Our Troops built a brand new, barrier-free home for Sgt. Peter Damon who lost both arms while serving in Iraq, and his young family at no cost to Sgt. Damon. With the help of 59 businesses and hundreds of volunteers, Homes for Our Troops was proud to turn over the keys to the Damon’s new home in October 2005.

Now Homes for Our Troops is hoping to duplicate the local business involvement and the community volunteerism in the Greater Boston/Eastern MA area for another wounded American Hero.

Sgt. Brian Fontaine, a 24-year-old tank commander from Dorchester, MA lost both of his lower legs while serving in Iraq when a terrorist’s IED (Improvised Explosive Device) that was planted in the road exploded under the Humvee that Brian was riding in.  Brian was serving with the First Brigade Combat Team of the Fourth Infantry Division when he was severely injured on June 8, 2006.

Brian’s dream for his future is to become a Boston firefighter like his father, who is a firefighter in Roxbury, MA and like his grandfather who served in the department as well.

Homes for Our Troops is in need of land in the Greater Boston/Eastern Massachusetts area to build a new handicap accessible home to suit Brian’s needs.  Visit our website www.homesforourtroops.org to make donations or to sign up to volunteer on Brian’s project.

About Homes for Our Troops

Homes for Our Troops was founded in 2004 by contractor John Gonsalves when he wanted to find an organization to volunteer his 20 years experience as a contractor to help our wounded veterans with their home modification needs. He found that no organization existed to help our severely disabled veterans in that way, so he founded Homes for Our Troops.  Since that time, Mr. Gonsalves and the Homes for Our Troops organization have worked nationwide to complete six other projects and we have 16 more currently under construction or soon to be commenced.  These projects mean that 24 severely injured veterans, 16 of whom are married, and with a total of 30 children among them, have or will soon have a home they can call their own a home suited to their difficult physical needs arising as a result of their sacrificing for our country. 

 “Our motto is, essentially, “Homes for our troops”, John Gonsalves says. “It’s not a (politically) left thing, it’s not a right thing, it’s the right thing. As Americans, we have a responsibility to these soldiers and their families.”

Homes for Our Troops has received awards and recognition from notable sources around the country:
President Bush’s December 7 Address to the Troops at Camp Pendleton, CA
Daughters of the American Revolution 2006 Medal of Honor
2005 & 2006 Newman’s Own Award

ENR Top 25 Newsmakers Award
Home Magazine’s 2005 Home Shelter Award

*The services provided by Homes for Our Troops is done at no cost to the veterans we serve.

Media Contact Information:

John Gonsalves, Founder Homes for Our Troops

508-331-2266

john@homesforourtroops.org

1 Taunton Green

Taunton, MA 02780

Website: www.homesforourtroops.org

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