Help for Heroes

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.”
- Ronald Reagan

I would like to amend that quote to include everyone who serves or has served in our military. Every one of you makes a difference every day. You bravely stand between us and those that would do us harm; you run towards trouble, not away. You are part of the greatest force for peace and mercy the Earth has known.

Thankfully, many of our bravest come home from their battles. However, some have made great sacrifices and need our help because of a devastating injury. In Wisconsin, Army Specialist Jason Schulz of Eagle is one of those people. In November 2007, Jason lost both his legs to an IED in Mosul, Iraq.

Returning veterans like Jason need accessible homes to fit their needs and a great organization called “Homes For Our Troops” is there to help provide those homes. Homes For Our Troops is a 501(c)(3) national, non-pofit, non-partisan organization founded in 2004. They help severely injured servicemen and servicewomen and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and to coordinate the process of building a home that provides maximum freedom of movement and the ability to live more independently. The homes provided by Homes For Our Troops are given at NO COST to the Veterans they serve.

My Facebook friends know me as a patriotic person. I share stories and articles about our great country every day – admittedly with a partisan angle. Ever since I was a kid my favorite color has been “Red, White and Blue” (yes, even when I was going through a “Black is cool” phase). Those colors represent liberty and freedom, they also represent one of the grandest ideals ever realized.

But, my blathering on about the Constitution, the Declaration or the Founding Fathers is little more than hot air compared to heroes like Spc. Schulz and the various veterans I have had the honor of working with in real estate.

It is time for me to put my patriotism where my mouth is.

Homes For Our Troops is set up in such a way that people can give money towards specific veterans who need our help and that is my intention. For 2010, for every real estate transaction I close I will donate $50 for every $50,000 of transaction value to Homes For Our Troops and specify it for Spc. Schulz. (Example: When I close on a home sale of $500,000, I will donate $500. If I close on a home at $275,000 I round up to $300. The minimum donation will be $100.)

If you aren’t in need of any real estate services, I still encourage you to donate to help Spc. Schulz. Click here.