Five Vets, Five Homes, Two Days, One Enormous “Thank You”

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - May 17, 2014 - PRLog -- House of Heroes Connecticut will once again descend upon Central Connecticut this week – this year led by a team of volunteers from new Corporate Sponsor Stanley, Black & Decker – ready, willing and able to honor service and sacrifice on the occasion of the Memorial Day holiday by providing no-cost home renovation services to five area veterans and their families.

The work begins Wednesday, May 21, with volunteers taking on two home repair projects in Plainville and one in New Britain. Being honored in Plainville will be John Dieli, a U.S. Army veteran, and Cecelia Difrancesco, widow of World War II U.S. Army veteran Louis Difrancesco. Repairs at the New Britain home of U.S. Army vet Victoria Dawson will complete the day’s work.

On Saturday, May 24, the homes of two more veterans will be repaired: Robert Duprey, a U.S. Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm and currently a member of the Connecticut National Guard Active Reserve, and Cheryl Guccione, widow of U.S. Army veteran David Guccione.

“This will be an exciting week as House of Heroes again ‘Makes a Difference in a Day’ by providing home repair services that these honored patriots could not manage for themselves,” said House of Heroes Connecticut Chapter Co-Founder and National Chairman Bill May. “Helping to make all this happen will be the added resources of Stanley, Black & Decker and its outstanding team of volunteers, an enormous boost that is taking our ongoing effort to the next level.”

Work at each home begins at 8 a.m. Tasks will include a differing variety of repairs, upgrades and improvements at each home including electrical work, plumbing, painting, kitchen cabinetry, bath improvements, smoke detectors, outdoor deck replacement, fencing, sidewalks and general yard maintenance. A ceremony will take place at each home during the day, including the national anthem and presentation of the American flag to the honored veteran or spouse.

Founded in January 2000, House of Heroes is a nonprofit organization serving the nation's military and public safety veterans (and their spouses) who are disabled, living on a fixed income, or facing other physical/financial challenges. Volunteers perform minor repairs and make improvements to the homes of veterans and their spouses—at no cost to the veteran—through the generosity of individuals, civic organizations and corporations. Home repair services have been provided to more than 600 veterans and their families since the group’s founding.

The House of Heroes Connecticut chapter was founded in 2012 by May and his partner, Steve Cavanaugh of Biltmore Construction, Hamden. Over the past two years, House of Heroes Connecticut has provided no-cost home improvements valued at a quarter of a million dollars to some 27 Connecticut veterans and their families in cities and towns across Connecticut including Berlin, Bethany, Bridgeport, Cheshire, Derby, Hamden, Manchester, Milford, New Britain, Orange, Plainville, Seymour, Southington, Stratford and Wolcott.

In addition to Stanley, Black & Decker, House of Heroes Connecticut counts among its supporters the Home Depot Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, the Disabled American Veterans (Hardware City Chapter 8), the Rotary Clubs of Southington and Hamden, Coldwell Banker, AT&T Pioneers, Biltmore Construction, F.J. Miller Construction, Pacelli Contractors, Inc., Waste Tech, Russo Roofing, Inc., Tom Hill Septic, Elm City Sanitation, FD Plumbing and Heating, DeLucia Home Improvements and Susco Building Group , LLC.

House of Heroes Connecticut is expanding operations in Connecticut and across the nation and is actively seeking additional sponsors. For more information, visit www.hohct.org.