Local nonprofits partner to build a home for a combat wounded soldier

Jan. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Contact: Joe Gustafson, 407 876-1112, Ext. 211, joe.gustafson@windermerecountryclubfoundation.org

Windermere Country Club Foundation Announces 2011 Benefit Recipient

Local nonprofits partner to build a home for a combat wounded soldier.

   Windermere, Fla., January 5, 2011 — Windermere Country Club Foundation is pleased to announce the recipient of proceeds from its Fourth Annual A Home For A Hero Charity Golf Tournament and Auction will be the West Orange Habitat for Humanity’s 2011 Home at Last project. Scheduled for February 22, 2011 at the Windermere Country Club, the tournament will support Home at Last’s efforts to provide a mortgage-free, handicapped accessible home for U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Aaron Cornelius and his family.
   Cornelius, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Army 4th Battalion, 64th Armor, was severely wounded on April 10, 2008 by an improvised explosive device in Bagdad, Iraq. Immediately blinded, his face crushed from shrapnel, his neck and carotid artery damaged, and a tennis ball-sized hole in his skull; SFC Cornelius did not lose consciousness and continued to command his platoon during the attack to fall back to a safe position. Once secure, his soldiers began caring for their seriously wounded sergeant. SFC Cornelius was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
   “A Home For A Hero is honored to have the opportunity to help provide a home for this wounded warrior,” said Joe Gustafson, chair, Windermere Country Club Foundation.
   A Home for a Hero and the West Orange Habitat for Humanity Home at Last program are both dedicated to providing mortgage-free, accessible homes to severely disabled, combat wounded veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to honor their service to America.

About Windermere Country Club Foundation

   Windermere Country Club Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, nonprofit organization founded in February 2006. The organization’s annual charity golf tournament, A Home For A Hero, raises funds to benefit combat-wounded veterans. Please visit www.ahomeforahero.org for additional information or to make a donation.
About Home at Last and the West Orange Habitat for Humanity

   Home at Last was founded in 2007 as a special project of the West Orange Habitat for Humanity to provide mortgage-free homes for severely disabled, combat wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. To date, the organization has provided two veteran families each with a mortgage-free home, a third home is under construction and the Cornelius family home is in the planning stage. All Home at Last houses are completed from donations and in-kind contributions of construction labor and materials.
   West Orange Habitat for Humanity, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, was founded in 1990 at Oakland Presbyterian Church. The goal of Habitat for Humanity is to bring families and communities in need together with volunteers and resources to build simple, decent and affordable homes. To date, West Orange Habitat for Humanity has built 29 homes.

Photo available, please contact merei@pr-works.com for a photo of U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Aaron Cornelius with his seeing eye dog Raider. .