Sears
One of many Heroes at Home success stories:
Sgt. Jonathan VanderWert and his wife, Blake, moved out of the city and into a small town in hope of creating a better living environment for their combined family of nine children. In order to find a house large enough to accommodate everyone, with only limited income, the VanderWerts chose an older home in need of major repairs and remodeling.
Handy around the house, Sgt. VanderWert started to renovate the house. All repairs and projects were put on hold, when in August of 2007, he was called into active duty. Sgt. VanderWert soon began serving a 15 month tour in Iraq with the Minnesota National Guard.
The VanderWert family was forced to live in undesirable conditions while Jonathan serves in Iraq. Many of the rooms in the home were missing walls and ceilings, there were exposed electrical wires, and only one bathroom was functioning. With the assistance of Rebuilding Together, the VanderWert family was able to receive the much needed repairs to their home. Volunteers gutted and remodeled the home to make it safe, warm, and dry for Sgt. VanderWert and his family. See the before and after photos from the VanderWert home...
Heroes at Home is part of the Veteran’s Housing Initiative at Rebuilding Together. Created to assist the military community through corporate, foundation, and individual contributions, the Veteran’s Housing Initiative works to provide safe and accessible housing for active duty service members and military families at need. The initiative fills the gaps in housing modifications and repair services for retired and active service members to ensure their housing needs are met. Visit the Heroes at Home page at Sears.com