Home For Our Troops

Building Homes, Rebuilding Lives – Locally

CertaPro Painters of Port Jefferson believes in giving back to our community and in supporting those who support us not only here, but abroad as well. As part of a nationwide program between CertaPro Painters and Homes For Our Troops, we’ve teamed up to help support a local veteran here on Long Island, SGT Luis Remache, who served in the United States Marine Corps. More about SGT Remache’s story in a minute. First, let’s talk about Homes For Our Troops (HFOT) helps out disabled veterans and helps get them started in rebuilding their lives.

HFOT assists severely injured veterans and their immediate families by raisingt donations of money, building materials, and professional labor in order to coordinate the process of building a specially adapted home that provides maximum freedom of movement and the ability to live more independently. The non-profit organization was founded in 2004 and as of August 20, 2014, they have built 167 specially adapted homes nationwide. Currently, they hav 40 Veterans on their active project list, including SGT Remache. The homes that are built are provided mortgage-free to the Veterans they serve. Their goal is to build a home for every Veteran who qualifies for one of these specially adapted homes.

Keep in mind that the average cost to construct a specially adapted home nationwide runs $430,000. HFOT is completely privately funded, receiving no assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs or any other government organization. Nearly 70 percent of their operational budget is generated by individual donors (like you!) and community fundraisers nationwide.

HFOT-built homes can serve as a departure point for these Veterans to rebuild their lives, and once again become highly productive members of society. Despite their life-altering injuries, many of these Veterans have embarked on new careers, completed their college degrees, or started families. Empowered by the freedom a mortgage-free and specially adapted home brings, our Veterans can now focus on their recovery and returning to their life’s work of serving others.

This is why CertaPro Painters of Port Jefferson is pleased to serve this wonderful organization and encourage all to donate to a very meaningful and life changing cause. You can donate directly by going to Homes For Our Troops online.

Now let’s talk about CertaPro’s involvement locally in a very special project that strikes close to home. We were privileged to be a part of the Ground Breaking Ceremony held at the new home site for Mr. and Mrs. Remache in Manorville, NY, on Saturday, July 19, 2014. It was a great and historic day as Brookhaven Township honored Luis by officially naming July 19th as Luis Remache Day!

Many dignitaries, voluteers, Marines, Police, Fire Fighters, and Providers of services and materials were present. Local schools provided bus service from the Elementary School to the site of the ceremony. The photos on this page are from that ceremony.

An official presentation of the home was made to the Remache’s, during which we learned of his training and heroism in battle as well as how hard he fought to regain a meaningful life.

Inspirational stories were told of other servicemen that have gone through the same hardships and how wonderful a cause like HFOT is that helps these brave men and woman to regain control of their lives.

Over the next few months the home will be constructed by a local builder and as the time arrives, CertaPro volunteers will respond to help paint the interior and some portions of the exterior of the new home. Pictured above are CertaPro Painters Franchisees Skip and Laurie Marsh, and Dominick Rocco (in yellow), along with SGT and Mrs. Remache.