Hello, BG Tom Landwermeyer from Homes For Our Troops here, I'll be by on Tuesday for a Q&A, what questions do you have for me?

Thank you for sharing COL.

That's great

Thanks for sharing!

RP welcomes you

Great questions, Mike! Since we are based in Massachusetts and do not have subordinate “branches” or “chapters” around the country, one of our biggest challenges is awareness -- getting the word out about our mission and organization. In order to maintain a low overhead and ensure we are maximizing our donations -- nearly 90 cents of every dollar goes directly into building homes -- we spend minimal money on advertising, and rely on word of mouth for people to find out about HFOT. We take a ‘grassroots’ approach to awareness. Sponsors and donors tend to find us by looking at Charity rating websites which is a great tool. On the local level, we rely on the local news outlets and communities to spread the word and get people to our events to welcome these heroes home. But, our PR and marketing folks work hard making the most of every opportunity we can. Fox Sports Supports chose us this year as one of six charities they would help advertise. We were featured in May and Jul, where our PSA was on Fox broadcasts, and during the MLB All-Star game we were mentioned and all the announcers were wearing our lapel pin. Last month, “The View” featured one of our builds that they followed from beginning to end. Awareness, though, is still a challenge.

Yes, we are a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, with 70% of our annual revenue coming from donations by the general public. As part of our commitment to supporting our Veterans post home delivery, we continue to expand our network of nonprofits, corporations, and government entities to provide assistance with employment, education, training, health, and other issues. This includes organizations that address PTSD and deal with suicide prevention. Additionally, several of our home recipients have started organizations that address these topics as well. We are constantly updating our resources to help our Veterans: https://www.hfotusa.org/help/#ways

BG Tom Landwermeyer - I hope down the road once you get completed with this mission we could set up a call to discuss how our organizations could potentially help each other. Here is my email address and I hope we can set up a date/time that is convenient for both: [login to see]

Also, BG Tom Landwermeyer have you thought about applying for the Google Grant (worth about $10K per month) in free marketing. Lot's to discuss, when the time is right.

Thanks for a great response to both questions!

Mike, I will absolutely be in touch. We do have the Google Grant. It comes in handy keeping our overhead down.

BG Tom Landwermeyer - Super - we've got a group of veterans that actually manages that grant for us (no charge) and keeps the campaigns alive and well and keeps us compliant - will share contact information with you on that as well. Okay, I'll leave you alone to answer other questions - take care!

A unique aspect of HFOT is that our Veterans choose where they want to live. That drives the biggest challenge we face -- finding and acquiring land. That’s the long pole in the tent here. The process of finding land can take a good bit of time if a Veteran is looking to build in a highly populated area such as California or Florida. Additionally we numerous requirements for the lots, some VA stipulated, others HFOT in order to properly site our one-level 2,650 sqft homes. We have a great land team at HFOT that is always on the lookout for a quality piece of land that we can offer to one of our Veterans. Because this is going to be the Veterans forever home, we want to make sure that they are happy with the location of their property and that it will meet all of their needs. We are currently working with ReMax to develop a method for land search that leverages their national reach to shortens this search time. It is important to note that we do not purchase land until the Veteran approves it.

ViVat Jesus !!!

Thanks, Nathan. Great to be here. There are plenty of ways to get involved, but I’ll just cover a couple! If there’s an event in your area, you can certainly get involved by volunteering in one of our community events. To find out more about that you may contact our Community Outreach Team at [login to see] .

Holding a fundraiser is also a great way to contribute, you can find out more at http://www.hfotusa.org/fundraise or contacting our Fundraising Team at [login to see] . We monitor more than 600 independent fundraisers annually in support of our mission.

To learn about even more ways to get involved visit https://www.hfotusa.org/get-involved/support_our_mission .

BG Tom Landwermeyer - thank you, sir! I will definitely bring this up with my assembly.

Thanks for the question, David, and thanks for helping us with RP! Happy to share with you our process. In addition to being injured in the theater of combat, post-9/11, a Veteran must be approved for the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) benefits by the Veterans Administration. These benefits are provided to Veterans with severe physical injuries, which may include one or more amputations, full or partial paralysis, and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). For more information about the VA Specially Adapted Housing program, please visit the VA website at the following link: http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/adaptedhousing.asp . We gladly assist prospective Veterans through the VA application process.

We also conduct a criminal background check and a financial review to include the last three years of taxes, as well as banking, income, and outstanding debt information. Additionally, we conduct our final interview and assessment during a Veterans Conference that we host 3-4 times annually in Massachusetts.


When the Veteran is accepted into the program, land search is the first stage, which is usually the longest and most challenging because we have specific ADA and VA requirements we abide by and finding land in certain areas can be tough. After land is found construction begins and we mark the occasion with a Community Kickoff event where we introduce the Veteran to the community. We hold two more events after that: a Volunteer Day where community volunteers help with landscaping, and a Key Ceremony where we award the Veteran their home. The timeline varies, but usually it takes about a 18-24 months from the time a Veteran is accepted into our program to when they receive the home. You can find out more about our application process at http://www.hfousa.org/faq.

Thank you BG Tom Landwermeyer. How do we find out about and sign up for volunteer days that may be happening in our area? Those sound like fantastic ways for people to get involved without having to know any carpentry skills.

If you go to our website check out our project map. You can click on any state and see what we have going on in your area. Hope to see you at one of our events soon!
https://www.hfotusa.org/building-homes/map/

I think we are over there to keep South Korea from already tying a knot in their tail !!!

Thanks Margaret. Great to be here and thanks for your question. Probably depends on your definition of win…and “where you stand depends on where you sit”. I trust our leaders to apply all the elements of national power to try and affect a diplomatic solution. However, I don’t see the dictator of nK as a rational actor (might be the understatement of the year). If it ends with full military conflict on the Peninsula…while I’m certain the nK military would be defeated, it would come at considerable cost to the South Korean people and infrastructure. It will be ugly.
Thanks again for the question. You have a great day too…with the mission of the organization I’m with, I never have a bad day!

Many links out there, some more official than others. This was one I ran across at a quick glance. I believe there are some sites where one can request online. Hope this helps.

http://www.dd214.us/methods.html

Have his SSN handy DOB Time frame of service !!!

Thanks for the question Matthew. I think there have already been a couple responses to this one, but I’d also suggest this website for help: http://militarybenefits.info/how-to-get-dd-214-copy/

Thanks, Bill! WILCO! We did build in RI for Marine Cpl Kevin Dubois a few years back. He is doing fantastic. 2 kids, in school. Great story! We have a home project in CT, but we are still in the land search mode at this time. Make sure you sign up for updates and follow along. Would enjoy meeting you at one of our build events: http://www.hfotusa.org/rua

Thank you so much Cowboy! Hope my salute in return is as snappy! It is absolutely an honor to continue helping our Veterans. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Thank you sir.

We're with you Jim!