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For years the building has been
struggling with plumbing issues, outdated appliances and carpet that
defied cleaning, but all of that is changing thanks to Home Depot.
“Home Depot has a core value of giving back,” said Chuck Messig, community captain for District 26 at Home Depot.
In 2011, Home Depot committed $80 million specifically for veterans organizations. The grant values vary. “The [average] value of a grant is
$15,000. In this case, [Post 288] got so lucky. We were granted $20,000
in a materials grant, ” Messig said.
The grant provided materials like
kitchen and bathroom appliances and carpeting. The labor for all of this
comes from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614
that share the building, community members and volunteers from Home
Depot.
“Our volunteers do everything but
kitchen cabinets and counter tops and doors. For those, we partner with
our service providers,” Messig said. Those partners are paid for by the grant. The idea for this project came from Susanne Dunwell, former senior field representative for Assemblymember Mike Gatto. Dunwell, who recently retired, returned
to the American Legion on Friday to kick off the remodeling project at
the American Legion. “I had worked with [American Legion] veterans when we did the Two Strike Park memorial,” she said.
Although there was a memorial wall at
Two Strike Park, over the years it had become tattered and there was a
very limited amount of space for names of those who had served. Members
of the American Legion and VFW, along with community members and
organizations, raised funds to replace the memorial with one that could
contain names of all Crescenta Valley military personnel that had made
the ultimate sacrifice for their country. During this time, Home Depot
had been contacted by Gatto’s office and a grant of $5,000 was donated
to the project.
“I saw how focused the veterans were on
the memorial and how much time they [donated] to the [project],
ignoring there own [Post] needs, ” Dunwell said. She approached Shari Caraway, program manager of the Home Depot foundation western division. “Shari was the hero in this,” Dunwell
said. “I talked to the veterans, asked them to put a list together of
everything they needed and I submitted it to Home Depot.” Shari approved the grant. Dunwell said this goes beyond just a gift for the veterans; it is a gift for the community. Messig agreed. “If you think about it, this is more than just about the veterans. They have families, they live in our community,” he said.
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| Photo By Dick CLUBB |
After the remodel, the American Legion
lodge will be a place that local individuals, veterans and
non-veterans, as well as organizations, can rent. It is a win-win for
the community and the veterans, Messig said. The veterans and members of the
community came out in force to help with the remodel. Messig was
impressed with the community support.
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This article originally appeared in the CRESCENTA VALLEY WEEKLY. You can read this article and more by
visiting the CRESCENTA VALLEY WEEKLY HERE.
Mike Gatto is the Chairman
of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly. He
represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and
the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin
Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake. www.asm.ca.gov/gatto 
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