"Build Brigades Bring Out Hundreds to Give Back in Celebration of Veterans Day"

"Build Brigades Bring Out Hundreds to Give Back in Celebration of Veterans Day"
Tuesday, November 20, 2007

100's of volunteers joined Homes for Our Troops "Build Brigades" in MA, PA and CT and provided countless hours of construction work to build specially adapted homes for SGT Brian Fountaine, SPC James Fair and Cpl. Brian Johnston.

“Build Brigades Bring Out Hundreds to Give Back in Celebration of Veterans Day”

100’s of volunteers joined Homes for Our Troops “Build Brigades” in MA, PA and CT and provided countless hours of construction work to build specially adapted homes for SGT Brian Fountaine, SPC James Fair and Cpl. Brian Johnston.

November 19, 2007 In a whirlwind of activity last week, Homes for Our Troops organization celebrated Veterans Day with 100’s of other grateful Americans by giving back to our severely wounded Veterans during two Build Brigade events in three different states.

A Build Brigade is a special event that start with just a foundation and with the help of skilled volunteers, enthusiastic unskilled volunteers, neighbors and friends and lots of elbow grease, erect the home, install windows and doors, siding and roof to make the structure weather-tight in just 3 days. Once the Build Brigade is complete, the work in the inside of the home gets underway and gets the Veteran in their home much quicker than building the home the traditional way.

Over Veterans Day Weekend, the first Build Brigade was held in Plymouth, MA at the site of SGT Brian Fontaine’s future home. It was a cold, blustery weekend but hundreds of volunteers showed up each day to help where they could. Skilled volunteers came from the Carpenters Union, Boston, Plymouth and Cambridge Fire Departments, and many other places. Unskilled volunteers came from many of Homes for Our Troops corporate sponsor companies and were general supporters of HFOT, neighbors lent their yards for staging areas, local church groups made breakfast sandwiches and solicited donations from local stores and restaurants, people brought hot drinks and supplies, the Wampanoag Indian tribe made stuffed quahogs and chowder and the workers were very well fed for the entire weekend! It was a true community effort by all!

Brian was severely injured while on his second tour of duty with the Army. The 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 and his fiancée Mary came to the site each day and thanked the volunteers for being there.

‘‘For a lot of people celebrating Veterans Day, it’s seeing a parade or thanking a couple of guys they know who might have served,’’ Fountaine said.

‘‘But I think, to a lot of these people here today, they believe they are actually making a difference. And they really are,’’ Fountaine said.

He said he has never been one to seek help, or to seek any credit for serving his country.

‘‘But, I lost my legs in Iraq. And I think a lot of these guys just think it’s a way to give back, even if they hang a couple nails somewhere or help put up a wall.

‘‘These volunteers are building our house. Building our future.’’

The importance of Veterans Day weekend wasn’t lost on the volunteers.

‘‘There is a little symbolism, that on Veterans Day we can do something for a veteran who gave so much to this country,’’ said Richie LeBlanc of Natick, who was framing the walls of the garage.

‘‘These guys go over and fight for us, whether you agree about the war or not,’’ LeBlanc said.

‘‘The least I can do is help him. The reason my family sleeps well at night, and I sleep well at night, is because of guys like him.’’

On that same weekend as the Plymouth, MA Build Brigade, a Volunteer Day was held at Cpl. Brian Johnston’s home in Coventry, CT to put some of the finishing touches on his home building project.

Approximately one hundred volunteers came out to do landscaping, roll out sod for the lawn, paint the inside of the home and do general clean up. The home dedication ceremony for this specially adapted home is set for mid-December.

The second Build Brigade event was held in Ross Township, PA for SPC James Fair’s home building project. In 2003, Army Specialist James Fair, of Coraopolis, was severely injured in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq.

James was completely blinded, lost both his hands and was left with shrapnel throughout his body causing injuries to his right leg and serious brain trauma.

This home building project for James will be one of the most high-tech homes that has been built by Homes for Our Troops and is made possible with a great deal of help from Duquesne Light of Pittsburgh. During the 2007 Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, this company helped raise awareness and thousands of dollars in funding for this specially adapted home in PA.

Both Build Brigades were huge successes and enabled Homes for Our Troops to accomplish in just 3 days, what would normally take a month under a traditional building timeline.

Homes for Our Troops is in need of skilled and unskilled volunteer labor and materials to complete the interiors of the those two homes and to participate in the building of the many specially adapted home building projects currently underway across the USA. Please visit www.homesforourtroops.org to view a complete project listing and to find out more about how you can get involved.

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 and/or commit to 30 home building/remodeling projects which means that 30 wounded service members and their families 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.”

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

Homes for Our Troops has received awards and recognition from notable sources around the country:

*Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service

*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

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For more information please contact John Gonsalves at 508-331-2266 or Kirt Rebello at 774-226-6922 or at the office 508-823-3300.

For high resolution images, please contact Dawn Teixeira at dawn @ homesforourtroops.org or 508-823-3300 ext 201.

Media Contact Information:

John Gonsalves, Founder Homes for Our Troops

508-331-2266

John @ homesforourtroops.org

37 Main Street

Taunton, MA 02780

Website: www.homesforourtroops.org

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