I have been blessed to be apart of the Celebration of Service program with The Home Depot Foundation. I have been to Georgia, Michigan and Florida to do service projects. And then I found out I would be participating in an event in my home town here in Utah! This time was a little more low key. A casual visit. And my family was able to come with me :)
I got an email telling me I was going to be able to visit a veteran and his family. They gave me his information and I realized that I knew him! We went to High School together. Crazy small world!
My kids are obsessed with all things army and no one in my family serves in the military so they were super excited to be able to talk with a REAL soldier :) Knowing them like I do, I waited until the afternoon before we went to tell them. I knew if they knew ahead of time I would be hearing "How many days until we get to go?" "How many more hours?" over and over.
They drew cards for him. They were precious!
(I removed the names for privacy)
Oh my word! My five year old's card makes me so happy. I LOVE when kids learn to sound out words :)
Home Depot sent some packages to my house so that we could take them some Holiday Decor (tree, ornaments, tree skirt, wreath).
We were suppose to be accompanied by a man from Operation Homefront which is an organization that "provides emergency, financial, and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors." But at the last minute he got sick and was not able to come.
My boys didn't waste any time. The minute we got there they pelted him with questions about tanks, camel spiders, helicopters, and Iraq. He was so nice and showed us pictures and told my boys stories. He served for 13 years before being injured and had to retire.
His family was so fun and it was very nice of them to welcome us into their home for the evening.
Don't forget to enter the huge PICK YOUR OWN PRIZE giveaway! There are a couple of Home Depot giftcards in the prize packs!!!
The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me for their Celebration
of Service Blog Network. As part of this program, I received compensation
for my time (ie. travel, accommodation). They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about
any product mentioned in these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers
and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their
own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC
guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
Awwww, I love stories about civilians reaching out to those in the military! My oldest son (18) just recently entered the Air Force. He graduated BMT in September and is currently in Tech School. All stories military related really touch me more personally now. And 13 years of service....wow! Please tell him "Thank you for your service" from one military family to another :-)
I love to hear all the stories about the real heroes in our country. What a fun experience for your boys..those cards are some of the sweetest I have ever seen.:)
Important moments for those boys. I'm sure they will not forget it anytime soon. And thank you for helping with Operation Homefront.
Lovely post Stacy...such a great story. :)
That is so amazing! I love that The Home Depot does that. What a neat project to be involved in. So glad that he was able to get something back in return for all his service to us!
What a cool thing to be able to do!
How fun that you knew your veteran! I traveled to a local base to meet my family. Post coming next week.
gail
What a neat thing to be able to do! Love it!
How awesome. Your family is awesome too.
You have been able to do so many amazing things with Home Depot! I love how willing you are to open up your heart and serve others. What a great example you are. I love that Home Depot is so willing to give back to the community as well. And so grateful there are people who are willing to serve our country so we can enjoy our freedoms!
I love this post! I love that Home Depot is such a great company and does all of these amazing things :) A big thanks to all the veterans out there!!
-Heidi