CHS JROTC Students Help Build Home for Wounded Soldier

CHS JROTC Students Help Build Home for Wounded Soldier

Hill Country Times

By Jason Gordon

10.06.10

“Service Before Self” is one of the United States Air Force’s core values and it was on display recently when 36 Canyon High School Air Force JROTC cadets participated in the Homes for Our Troops program in Spring Branch.

The cadets spent a full Saturday helping build a home for Army Cpl. Joshua Stein who served in Iraq and is a double amputee.

“I am extremely grateful for the work these young men and women put in,” said Stein who is married and has three young children. “Their dedication and thoughtfulness was extraordinary.”

Homes for Our Troops is a national non-profit organization founded in 2004. Its mission is to assist 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 the ability to live more independently.

“This was really a team effort,” said CHS senior Julisa Sanchez. “Our cadets helped by pulling up cactus, picking up discarded building materials, and doing whatever else was needed.”

Volunteering at Homes for Our Troops made a lasting impression on many CHS JROTC students.

“This was a humbling experience for me,” said Fernando Cantu. “When I saw everyone working on the home and the cadets helping out it gave me a true sense of patriotism.”

The next big project for the Canyon High JROTC students is October 9. They will be cooking breakfast at the Brooks Army Medical Center Fisher House in San Antonio for 60 family members of wounded soldiers.

For more information about the CHS JROTC program call (830) 221-2447