Home Depot volunteers give Fisher House a face-lift

Home Depot volunteers give Fisher House a face-lift

Daily Republic

By Ian Thompson

11.18.11

More that 50 volunteers from several Northern California Home Depot stores showed up bright and early Friday to spend their day caulking, putting in light bulbs, installing a new security door and washing the exterior of the Fisher House next to David Grant Medical Center.

“It’s incredible,” said Maj. Kevin Shultz, Fisher House executive director.

The work day started at 7 a.m. and wrapped up a little after 1:30 p.m. It was part of a nationwide effort by the Home Depot Foundation to spend a day at Fisher Houses across the country giving them a home improvement makeover.

The Fisher House gives families of veterans and military members a place to stay next to military medical centers across the country while family members are being treated there.

Home Depot representatives showed up a couple of weeks ago to assess what the local Fisher House needed and then returned Friday with volunteers who came from as far away as Ukiah and were armed with $15,000 in supplies.

“We jumped on this. We have been trying to find more opportunities to help veterans,” said Lucretia Heath, manager of the Home Depot in Fairfield.

Overall, the goal was to help make the Fisher House more energy efficient, which included replacing all of the lights in the house with fluorescent bulbs.

The volunteers will return in the near future to install two stacked washer/dryers that will double the house’s capacity to do laundry, a very important improvement, according to the Fisher House staff. They will also return when there is better weather to paint the interior of the house.

Home Depot District Manager Gregg Kenney said it meant the world to him to help a place that is dedicated to assisting veterans and the military. The work day also provided an opportunity to spend some time “listening to the individuals here.”

“They have protected this county and my family, and this house helps provide shelter and comfort for someone who is in need,” Kenney said.