Firefighters & Their Families Work Together To Repaint Home of Blind WWII Veteran
One of the joys of having an able body lies in never having to wonder how you’ll handle everyday tasks. But if you’ve ever experienced a serious illness or suffered a debilitating injury, you understand how quickly common chores can become insurmountable obstacles.
How can you cook for yourself with an injured hand? How do you pay the bills if you’ve suffered a stroke?
And, in the case of one veteran from Florida, how do you paint your house if you’ve gone blind? Fortunately for Tampa resident William Velez, a group of volunteers was more than willing to help.
Velez proudly served his country in World War II, according to WTVT. However, as he grew older, the 89-year-old soldier’s health began to fail.
He was independent and had grown used to doing things on his own. Despite his advancing years, he’d last painted his ranch-style, suburban home himself 17 years ago.
The loss of his vision made that impossible now. Fortunately, he found someone — or, rather, someones — to help.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Florida, announced on its Facebook page that it had partnered with Paint Your Heart Out Tampa to paint Velez’s home.
“With his disabilities, he’s not able to get around and maintain his home the way he’d like,” Paint Your Heart Out team captain Ken Forward said.
“He told me he painted his home 17 years ago by himself. But now with his impairment, he can’t do it, so we’re here to help him.”
The effort was part of an annual event put on by the Gulf Coast nonprofit. According to its website, Paint Your Heart Out Tampa “is a one day volunteer effort to paint the homes of the low income, elderly residents of Tampa.”
The group has painted over 3,000 homes, mobilizing some 75,000 volunteers over a total of 540,000 hours. And though those efforts have included government officials and agencies, the nonprofit is entirely privately funded.
When it came to painting Velez’s house, the group joined with the fire department, which was more than happy to help.
“As Hillsborough County Fire Chief Jones expressed it, it is important that we serve the community beyond emergency situations,” the organization said.
In addition to caring for the exterior of the home, a group of teenage volunteers installed smoke detectors within. Velez himself was thrilled with their efforts, as was his wife, Maria.
“It makes me glad,” Velez said. “I’m very, very happy for that.”
It wasn’t just the disabled veteran who found their efforts valuable. The volunteers felt rewarded by his reaction.
“We painted the home of 89-year-old WWII vet William Velez and his wife Maria who came out to thank us, melting our hearts with their gratitude,” Hillsborough County Fire Rescue wrote on Facebook.
In fact, the gratitude that welled up out of the man seemed payment enough on its own. “Mr. Velez and his wife came out and met with us, and just to see his appreciation and gratitude is rewarding,” Forward said.
“In the fire service, we are innate to give back to the community. To assist the community, to serve the community, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
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