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Countrywide Pledges $1M to Home Modifications For Wounded Veterans
By James Comtois
Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., plans to extend and expand its support of Serving Those Who Serve, a program created by the volunteer-based organization Rebuilding Together that provides free home modifications for American military personnel returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with debilitating injuries, by pledging $1 million to the program.
Countrywide has been the founding sponsor of the initiative, announced on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2005. Since then, the program has transformed the homes of three severely injured soldiers. These projects have facilitated Rebuilding Together's development of the model and building of the infrastructure for the ongoing program.
The $1 million contribution was announced during a ceremony at the Manassas Park, Va., home of Joseph and Eva Briseno and their son, Jay, where Rebuilding Together and Countrywide volunteers were completing the third and final introductory project under Countrywide's founding grant.
In June 2003, Jay Briseno was shot in the back of the neck while serving as a Civil Affairs Specialist with his U.S. Army Reserve unit in a Baghdad marketplace. His spinal cord was severely damaged, leaving him paralyzed from the chin down. He lapsed into a coma and had two heart attacks that resulted in anoxic brain damage. Nearly three years after being shot in the line of duty, the 22-year-old veteran still requires a ventilator to help him breathe and a feeding tube for some of his nourishment.
"As the founding sponsor of Serving Those Who Serve, Countrywide provided the initial funding for three projects to lay the groundwork for an ongoing program," said Countrywide president and COO Stan Kurland at the ceremony, adding, "Rebuilding Together has demonstrated there is need for this kind of program; that it can work, with the assurance of long-term support; and that it is too important to be allowed to end after this initial development phase.
"So, Countrywide is privileged to announce that we are committing $1 million to Rebuilding Together to further create the infrastructure and expand the capacity of the Serving Those Who Serve program and continue it for at least the next two years. We are making this commitment in honor of Jay Briseno and the entire Briseno family for their service and sacrifice, and as representatives of the thousands of American heroes in similar situations," Mr. Kurland added.
Late this month, Rebuilding Together volunteers, including about 20 Countrywide employees, were completing extensive modifications to Mr. Briseno's basement living area to better accommodate his needs and make it easier to care for him. The work included widening and installing doors, rebuilding the bathroom to provide wheelchair accessibility to the shower, painting, upgrading electrical services and lighting, installing a back-up power generator for life support equipment, constructing a screened porch and other improvements.
While costs for modifications vary with work scope, contributions of supplies and the extent of volunteer labor, Rebuilding Together and Countrywide expect the $1 million contribution will permit home modifications for up to 70 veterans.
Additional donations from individuals, foundations and businesses are being sought to provide for further expansion of the program and increase the value of modifications that can be undertaken.
"Countrywide's million-dollar commitment allows Rebuilding Together to move forward with hiring a program manager to bring Serving Those Who Serve up to full speed," said Patty Johnson, president and CEO of Rebuilding Together.
Countrywide is in its tenth year as a major corporate sponsor of Rebuilding Together's core program, which plans to provide home renovations to about 9,000 low-income homeowners who are elderly, disabled and families with children this year. Countrywide volunteers will be working on company-sponsored Rebuilding Together projects in more than 100 communities this spring, the majority of them on Saturday, April 29, designated as the charity's "National Rebuild Day."
Separately, Countrywide has also provided up to $1 million in lead funding for Rebuild 1,000, Rebuilding Together's initiative to repair at least 1,000 hurricane-damaged homes for low-income residents in the Gulf Coast region.
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