Hyde Park Vermont Community and Non-Profit Rally to Help Young Veteran
Rebuilding Together Greater Burlington and Sears' Heroes at Home Provide Final Boost to Help Private First Class Andrew Parker Come HomeHYDE PARK, Vt., June 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rebuilding Together, with funding support from Sears' Heroes at Home program, will work with the Hyde Park Community to repair and modify the home of PFC Andrew Parker. Parker, 21, who joined the Army after graduating from high school in 2007, was wounded in a road side bomb attack while serving in Afghanistan. Parker, now a quadriplegic, is paralyzed from the chest down. Parker is recovering at a Veterans Affairs hospital and is unable to return home until the space has been modified to fit his needs.
"Rebuilding Together with funding support from Sears' Heroes at Home campaign was able to provide the final boost to help Andrew come home, and because he has been so completely embraced by the community, he will have many resources to help him transition to his new life at home," stated Dixie O'Connor, Board President for Rebuilding Together Greater Burlington. "When we got the call from our Washington, D.C. office about Andrew's situation, we were able to jump in to help him come home by providing critical funding for the project and by working with the community to leverage resources. Not only will we help him return to his home but our support makes it possible to free up considerable funds already raised by the local 'Andrew Parker Fund' to help Andrew with a daunting list of other current and future needs such as equipment, transportation, education and medical costs."
The community of Hyde Park, Vermont, led by Andrew's former kindergarten teacher Diane Marcoux-LaClair, has rallied around PFC Parker and the needs of his family. Community volunteers will be working with Rebuilding Together Greater Burlington to complete the demolition and reconstruction of Parker's current garage and construct a new accessible living area for him. In addition, they will help provide accessibility modifications to the existing family home, so Parker can move throughout the entire space.
"When we heard of Andrew's injuries we knew as his neighbors and friends we owed him our best, just like he gave us. When we started this journey we couldn't have imagined the outpouring of generosity from this community who have embraced the Parkers so completely, and will stay with them every step of the way," said Marcoux-LaClair.
The Andrew Parker home renovation project has been funded through the Heroes at Home program, which is sponsored by Sears Holdings Corporation. Heroes at Home is in its third year and is currently in midst of funding more than 150 projects nationwide. In prior years Heroes at Home has helped nearly 300 veterans. The annual campaign for future projects is ongoing now through July 6th. All Americans can help by donating in any Sears store or online, all proceeds will go to Rebuilding Together to help active military families and veterans. To learn more about Rebuilding Together or Heroes at Home visit www.sears.com/heroesathome or www.rebuildingtogether.org.
About Rebuilding Together:
Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing home repair and renovation services at no cost to those in need. Through the support of corporate sponsors, local businesses and the hands-on work of over 200,000 volunteers, Rebuilding Together renovates and repairs nearly 10,000 homes and nonprofit facilities annually.
In addition to its core home repair work, Rebuilding Together renovates community centers and conducts home modification and repair programs that focus on elder home safety, energy efficiency, veterans housing, and disaster recovery and reconstruction. Rebuilding Together has more than 200 affiliates nationwide. For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org.
About The Andrew Parker Fund:
Andrew Parker is a Hyde Park, Vermont Veteran who was wounded while serving our country in Afghanistan. He is now a quadriplegic, recovering at the Veterans Affairs hospital in the Boston area. To help make it possible for Andrew to come home, the community of Hyde Park, VT set up the Andrew Parker Fund which create enormous momentum for Andrew's cause. For more information, visit www.helpbringandrewhome.org.
Related Pages
Volunteers Make Home of Winooski Woman Safer, More Accessible
Volunteers Make Home of Burlington Family Safer, More Accessible
Rebuilding Together Earns 4-Star Charity Rating from Charity Navigator
RTG 15th Annual NFL Kick Off to Rebuild
Hyde Park Vermont Community and Non-Profit Rally to Help Young Veteran
Rebuilding Together*Greater Burlington and Lowe's Team up to Renovate and Repair a Charlotte Home
United Way Press Release
Remodelers Council of the Home Builders and Remodelers Assoc