APRIL NEWSLETTER Homes for Our Troops 37 Main Street, Taunton, MA 02780 Ph: 508-823-3300 Fax: 508-823-5411 Email: info@homesforourtroops.org IN THIS ISSUE   WHAT IS A SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOME? Each wounded Veteran we work with has specialized needs for their home.  What makes the homes we build and remodel special is that we tailor it  to the particular needs of each Veteran. [Read more]  GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONIES Pittsburgh, PA SPC James Fair - April 30 Buena Vista, CO Cpl. Chris Fesmire - May 4 Milford, DE SGT Jason Neilson - May 11 New Milford, NJ Cpl. Visnu Gonsalez -June 3   HOME DEDICATION CEREMONIES Cascade, MT SSG John Bennett - April 28   HOME PROJECT UPDATES New Bern, NC SGT Eric Edmundson League City, TX Staff SGT Shawn Monroe LATEST NEWS Homes for Our Troops Receives $3,000,000 Donation Duquesne Light Home & Garden Show Success Corporate Supporter Simonton Windows will be awarded the Department of Defense Civilian Public Service Award   Homes for Our Troops 2006 Building Partner of the Year, The McKee Group will be awarded the Department of Defense Civilian Public Service Award EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT 1st Annual Dinner/Auction a Success!  Fortune Brands representatives present a $10,000 check to John Gonsalves at the 1st Annual Dinner/Auction TPC and PGA Charities Presents $256,000 Check at the 1st Annual Dinner/Auction   Brian Conner of the Boston TPC presents a $252,000 check to Tom Benoit, Kirt Rebello and Dawn Teixeira of Homes for Our Troops Peter and Jenn Damon Receive the HFOT Victoria L. Mosier Humanitarian Award for Outstanding Service to Homes for Our Troops and wounded Veterans.    Press Release: F1 Boston Hosts "Homes for Our Troops" Karting Event Disabled War Vets Demo Hand-Control Race Karts in Conjunction with Fundraiser [Read more] CONVENIENT WAYS TO DONATE HELP US SUSTAIN THE MISSION! Join Operation Enduring Support - Our monthly giving program. Make an Online Donation Printable Donation form for Mailing Donate Stocks Donate Supplies or Labor Purchase HFOT Gear! Make a Tribute Web Page Start a Team Raiser Event PLACES WE'LL BE JLC Builders' Show in Atlantic City, NJ April 18-20 Long Beach, CA JLC Builders' Show May 8-11 Indianapolis Speedway Race Week! May 23-29 by selling t-shirts and dog tags again this year! Stop by and see our "HERO BIKE" and meet representatives from Homes for Our Troops as well as some of the wounded service members who we are working with to build specially adapted homes.   Back to Top   SUPPORTER OF THE MONTH   Duquesne Light hosted a fundraiser at the 10 day Pittsburgh Home & Garden show in Pittsburgh in March.  James Fair's home building project will commence at the groundbreaking/closing to be held April 30, 2007 at the site where the home will be built. Because visitors to the 10-day Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show gave $34,000 in cash toward the specially adapted home for the severely wounded Iraq war veteran. Because contractors and suppliers pledged granite countertops and a garage door, a roof, windows, siding and a hot tub, plus services, all worth an estimated $100,000. Because an anonymous Pittsburgh businessman donated up to $100,000 to buy a lot for the home. And all because western Pennsylvania wanted to say thank you to the 25-year-old man who was blinded and lost his hands and forearms in an explosion in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2003. [Read more]     Back to Top   1st Annual Homes for Our Troops Dinner / Auction Benefit sponsored by  http://www.psmj.com/ THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED THIS EVENT!  IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS RAISING $75,000! View the photo gallery Over 500 in attendance! Mike Weiskopf, his son and Pete and Jenn Damon HFOT President and Founder, John Gonsalves Getting ready for the live auction!   The First Annual Dinner / Auction Celebration to mark our third year as an organization, to honor some of the American Heroes we serve and to raise funds for our mission! Thank you to all who attended and supported this event!  It was standing room only, a wonderful time for everyone and a huge success for our mission!                                 WHAT IS A SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOME? For Spc. Kyle Burleson in Springhill, LA, a specially adapted home is one that enables Kyle, Kristy and their two children to be together in the same room.  It's one where Kyle can maneuver his wheelchair and bulky respirator around the home so he can be a part of the activity in a home with two young children.  Kristy feeds Kyle in their new kitchen. Their special home includes a track lift system so that Kyle's wife is able to move him from bed to wheelchair or from room to room using a mechanical lift.  It also includes Simonton StormBreaker Plus windows to withstand any severe storms and a back up generator so that even if the power goes out, Kyle's respirator will remain powered during the outage.  A special home is one where Kyle can open doors with the use of a remote contol system that opens and closes the doors when Kyle uses a blow tube that is attached to his wheelchair.  Even if there is no one home, Kyle has the independence to go outside and enjoy the weather or observe nature in his own back yard.  That is what a specially adapted home is to the Burlesons. [Visit Kyle's project page for more information]   For Staff SGT Eugene Simpson of Dale City, VA a specially adapted home is one where he can freely move about         Brian Stowell of CrownPoint Cabinetry shows Eugene his new cabinets at the factory in New Hampshire his home in a wheelchair and reach things in his kitchen cupboards from sitting position.  Eugene was paralyzed from the waist down while serving in Iraq and now uses a wheelchair to get around.  CrownPoint Cabinetry constructed custom cabinets for Eugene that easily open by pushing on the door.  Inside the cupboard is a sliding rack that lets Eugene pull down the shelve so he can easily see what is in the cabinet and reach it from his wheelchair.    CrownPoint Cabinetry of Claremont, NH  donated the cabinets to SGT Eugene Simpson's project in Dale City, VA. http://www.crown-point.com/  [Visit Eugene's projects page for more information]     James Fair relies on assistance for his daily routine. For Spc. James Fair of Pittsburgh, PA who lost both hands, lost the sight in both eyes, suffered brain injury and the use of one leg will present completely different challenges for Homes for Our Troops.  Without the use of his hands or his eyes, James will need a high tech, "smart" home to help him gain his independence.  The use of different textured flooring materials wil help James identify which room he is in or where things are in the room.  Voice activated systems will be used to help him with the everyday use of appliances and utilities.  Homes for Our Troops is please to have the opportunity to work with Carnegie Mellon University on technologies for Jame's home.  We feel that this research will aid not only the wounded service members that we work with, but for all disabled people who are in need of this type of assistive technology. Carnegie Mellon is a global research university of more than 10,000 students and more than 4,000 faculty and staff, recognized for its world-class arts and technology programs. [Visit Jame's project page for more information] KIDS FOR OUR TROOPS Kid's can help too!  Visit the Kids for Our Troops website to learn more http://www.kidsforourtroops.org/ What kids around the country are doing to support our severely wounded Veterans Massachsuetts - A little league team is taking their cue from PGA Pro Phil Mickelson's Birdies for the Brave fundraising campaign.  They started Hits for Heroes and each time a team member gets a hit they donate money to Homes for Our Troops.  A single raises $1, a double raised $2 and so on.  KIds are asking friends and family to donate too. Texas - A cub scout pack sold refreshments at their Pinewood Derby and a school dance to raise money for Homes for Our Troops. Virginia - Older kids went to a clean up day at one of the homes of a severely wounded veteran who is being assisted by Homes for Our Troops. Massachusetts - An 8 year old girl makes bracelets and sells them at school and to her family and friends.  She donates the money to help our mission. Connecticut - MIddle School kids held a spaghetti supper, invited local Veterans, had a raffle and raised thousands of dollars for Homes for Our Troops Visit the Kids for Our Troops website to learn more http://www.kidsforourtroops.org/   IN THE NEWS March 20, 2007 - America Supports You: Homes for Our Troops Receives $3 Million Donation Samantha Quigly, Armed Forces Press Service After receiving $250,000 in donations last week through a partnership with the Duquesne Home and Garden Show in Pittsburgh, “Homes for Our Troops” founder John Gonsalves didn't think things could get much better. March 20, 2007 - Fundraising for injured Coreopolis soldier going well Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA An effort to raise money to build a house in Ross for a wounded Iraq war veteran has netted almost $250,000 in cash March 10, 2007 - Downtown Home Show Visitors Can Aid Vet Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA Duquesne Light and Homes for Our Troops, A Massachusetts charity that raises money to build homes for veterans with disabilities, will collect donations at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show March 7, 2007 - Organization hopes to build home for disabled veteran Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA It sounds simple, but independence is a tall order for Homes for Our Troops, a Massachusetts-based charity that hopes to build a house in the North Hills.... March 2007 - Beaver County Times  - Veteran feels light in his dark world   March 2007 - Duquesne Light Company and the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show Join Forces With Homes for our Troops To Help Local Soldier   CONVENIENT WAYS TO DONATE HELP US SUSTAIN THE MISSION! Join Operation Enduring Support - Our monthly giving program. Giving to Homes for Our Troops through our Operation Enduring Support monthly giving program provides sustainable support of our long-term commitment to provide handicap accessible homes for our severely wounded American Heroes. It’s Convenient, Safe, and Easy to automatically support our mission using your credit card or checking account! Choose a monthly donation amount to be deducted from your account. *You may change or suspend your donation at any time by logging in on this site and making the changes to your donation information through your very own Donor Service Center Make an Online Donation Use our secure online donation form to donate using your Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or Checking Account. Donate by Phone Call our office toll-free at 866-7-TROOPS to make a donation by phone. Office hours are 9 am to 5 pm EST Monday - Friday Donate by Mail Print out the mail in donation form and mail it to our office at 1 Taunton Green, Taunton, MA 02780 Donate Building Supplies or Labor Please enter your information into our services / labor / materials donations database. Enter all of your contact information as well as the type of donation you would like to make. We will keep you in our secure database and when we are in need of your specific donation in your area, we will contact you well in advance. Donate Stock Your generous donation of stocks & mutual funds will aid us in our mission of providing handicap accessible homes to our most severely wounded veterans. You should contact your stockbroker to arrange for transfer of the shares. Our Morgan Stanley broker requests that your broker either call their office or fax to them the information on the stock being donated. Broker: Morgan Stanley Address: 370 Faunce Corner Rd. North Dartmouth, MA 02747 Phone #: 508-985-1000 Fax #: 508-985-1050 DTC#: 015 Account #: 569011154 Acct. Name: Homes for Our Troops, Inc. If you have any questions or require more information, please e-mail tombenoit@homesforourtroops.org or call Homes for Our Troops at 508-823-3300. Purchase HFOT Gear! T-shirts, 3-Season Jackets, Sweatshirts, Bumper Stickers and Ribbon Magnets all Made in the USA! Order from our online store today! Make Your Own Tribute Web Page Create your own Tribute or Memorial web page to honor a loved one and in your own words, ask others for donations to Homes for Our Troops in honor of the person you choose. Easy to use! Start Now! Hold An Easy Online Fundraising Event NEW! Steps Toward Home - Hold An Easy Online Fundraising Event - Walk, Bike, Run, Jump Rope or Read Books, ask family and friends to sponsor you by sending them email letters and let them help you reach your fundraising goal! It is free to become a team member and you will have access to your own Personal Web Page where you can: Upload images from your computer to tell your story. Write in your own words why you want to raise money for Homes for Our Troops Set a goal and send out personalized emails to friends and family asking them to help you reach your goal Track your progress of funds raised Send out Thank You emails and much more! Start Now!     Please make a much needed donation today! We offer many different ways for your to donate to help our mission of building and remodeling homes for handicap accessibility for our most severely wounded veterans. Thank you!   Back to Top