Heroes Rebuilding Together

Picured: Rahuchel Acevedo, Joseph Andrade and his dad Carlos Andrade, Dan Cerone, Tyler Hanson, Krisite Inostroza, Amanda Karaqi, Corrine LePere and her Dad Carl LePere, Lauren LoBello, Ryan McLoughlin, Kelly Murphy, Rob Gallacher. On Saturday, October 17th 10 Brewster High School students spent the day in Dutchess County painting and doing yard work for a Korean War veteran, as part of Rebuilding Together's annual fall "Rebuilding Day."

The project was funded by Sears’s "Heroes at Home" program which provides support to military service people, veterans, and their families through joint efforts with various nonprofit organizations.

The students worked with volunteers from Sears and Kmart stores, a work group from IBM, and community supporters to repair and replace kitchen cabinets, replace cracked linoleum floors, repair the sidewalk, fix plumbing, paint, and clean up the yard and gardens.

Mr. Arthur North, a Korean War veteran, and his wife Nancy have lived in their Poughkeepsie home since 1984, but age and chronic health problems have impeded their ability to keep up with home repairs.

“We’re so happy to have this help,” Mrs. North said.

Sears Holdings has raised nearly $7 million for Heroes at Home through 2009 via a nationwide in-store fundraising campaign during the holidays. This is one of the hundreds of projects made possible by these donations. To date, Rebuilding Together has completed nearly 300 projects for veteran homeowners across the country.

“The kids worked incredibly hard and really made a difference,” stated Executive Director Dave Dobson. "We'd have them back any time."

Rebuilding Together Dutchess continues to generate support for lowincome families, the elderly, disabled members of the military, and veterans and their families by providing home repairs, improvements or modifications. To find out more about Rebuilding Together Dutchess, how to refer a family, or how you can help please visit rebuildingtogetherdutchess.org or call 845-454-7310.