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DEL.ICIO.US“Nonprofit helps refits homes for injured troops”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
His daughters are married to Army men.
Rob Wolfe’s a captain; David Branch’s a major.
And Marshall Wages of Lilburn is their father-in-law.
Last Christmas at a family gathering, talk turned to the U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the home front could support them. Two of Wolfe’s fellow soldiers had been killed by a car bomb in Iraq. Relatives wanted to help the fallen soldiers’ families. Someone suggested Homes For Our Troops, a nonprofit that builds or remodels houses to accommodate severely wounded veterans.
“They said, ‘If you do anything, do something to help all the soldiers,’ ” Wages said. “So we picked Homes for Our Troops.”
On Monday, a charity golf tournament was held at the Bears Best Club in Suwanee to raise money for the 3-year-old charity, based in Massachusetts. The event, which included lunch, a barbecue supper and silent auction, raised an estimated $5,000. More contributions are expected.
Wages manages a warehouse for Plantation Door Company. His employer, in partnership with All Georgia Exteriors, set up a local nonprofit - the All Georgia Foundation Inc. - to funnel tourney proceeds to Homes For Our Troops. Brandon Leatherwood and Jeff Teems own Plantation Door; Duane Laricey and Kevin O’ Neil own All Georgia Exteriors.
The Lawrenceville businessmen hope to make the tourney a yearly event - or at least as long as it’s necessary, and that might be awhile. More than 20,000 servicemen have been injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, according to the Homes For Our Troops Web site.
“These men and women are risking their lives and limbs to allow us to enjoy the quality of life we have here,” Becky Teems, Wages’s sister, said in an e-mail. “Many times, when they return wounded and maimed, their quality of life suffers greatly. We know that the money we raise will be a drop in the bucket to what is needed. But it is a good start.”
Numerous school groups, civic clubs and individuals send care packages to U.S. troops abroad. That’s great. In a recent letter to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, though, an Army sergeant suggested that citizens stop shipping wet wipes and such. Soldiers, he said, would rather have DVDs and phone cards.
Now imagine some of those very soldiers, critically injured, missing arms and legs, returning to a house in America that doesn’t fit their special needs. One with no ramps, proper doors and lifts. Well, Homes For Our Troops works to either give such homes an extreme makeover or build a new structure altogether.
And it doesn’t cost veterans a cent.
The nonprofit raises money, building supplies, labor, whatever, to make houses handicapped accessible. According to its Web site, 15 projects have been completed and another 20 are under way. Homes have been adapted for two disabled Georgia veterans.
Late Monday, I called the nonprofit’s headquarters to tell them about the charity golf outing. Kirt Rebello, vice president and chief projects officer, expressed gratitude but not surprise.
“We couldn’t do what we do without the generosity of donors across the country,” he told me. “The response has been overwhelming.”
Wolfe, the Army captain and son-in-law of Wages, has completed two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He escaped the car bombing that claimed the life of two fellow soldiers.
“I walked,” said Wolfe, 37, who took part in Monday’s charity tournament.
Others, he said, aren’t as fortunate.
“The number of amputees alone is staggering,” he told me. “It’s great to help the soldiers.”
To donate to the local fund-raiser, make checks payable to All Georgia Foundation Inc., 1675 Lakes Parkway, Suite 101, Lawrenceville, Ga., 30043; 678-377-7955 or www.homesforourtroops.org.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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