Veteran gets A Brush with Kindness on National Day of Service

Written by matt haugen | 7:06 PM on September 12, 2013

Across America, September 11th has become a day to volunteer and give back to your community.

This year Nathan Hull was the recipient of a little of that love in Minneapolis. Nathan is a Vietnam Veteran whose 100-year-old home was slowly falling into disrepair. He needed a new back door, a new bathroom floor, new windows and landscaping help.

Thankfully the Home Depot Foundation stepped up in a big way. Home Depot donated $9,000 worth of materials and brought out teams of volunteers to repair Nathan's home. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's A Brush with Kindness (ABWK) repair program organized the work.

This year, Home Depot will be sponsoring 350 service projects for Veterans across the country between 9/11 and Veterans Day. That's why the partnership with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity made so much sense. Last year, Twin Cities Habitat became the first nonprofit in the country to be recognized as a Yellow Ribbon organization thanks to its work with Veterans.

The Veterans Initiative, which Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity launched in 2012, has led to more Veterans being served and more Veterans acting as Habitat volunteers themselves. This past spring, a Veteran's family purchased a Twin Cities Habitat rehabbed home in Oakdale. Two more Veterans are on track to buy Twin Cities Habitat homes this fall. Volunteers have completed numerous repair projects for Veterans like Nathan in the past year as well. Hundreds of Veterans have volunteered to help build with Twin Cities Habitat. Some even formed a Regular Crew that comes out to build on a monthly basis.

Nathan was overwhelmed by the number of people who came out to help repair his home. Like many Veterans, he was reluctant to ask for help. He is a very humble man who didn't even sign up for his full Veteran's benefits for nearly three decades after his service.

Today there are 22 million Veterans living in the country. These men and women disproportionately face issues like homelessness and unsafe housing. Twin Cities Habitat is looking for more Veterans to serve with its Homeownership and ABWK programs. We are also looking for more great companies like Home Depot who are interested in sponsoring these projects. If you want to learn more about Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's work with Veterans please click below.

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