VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Connie Chadwick served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1970s and then served in the National Guard. The 65-year-old is a self-made woman who works hard to keep her house intact.
"I've had to fix the stairs in my house...but every now and then I have to take a break," Chadwick explained. "I had to take all the paneling down in the house"
Chadwick has had a knee replacement and surgery done on her hands for carpel tunnel syndrome. She said many of her injuries come from her military days. While she loves doing home improvements, she knows her bad knee and shaking hands wouldn't be able to do big projects like replacing her roof.
So, the community decided to step up to help a local veteran.
Reitzel Home Improvement, the Chesapeake VFW, and the Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads teamed up with Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, a nationwide effort to show gratitude and honor our veterans.
"The VFW, thank God, is a group of people that come out and help deserving veterans," said Dan Lear, Habitat for Humanity South Hampton Roads' Director of Development and Communications. "We love helping projects like this that include people in the VFW."
Reitzel Home Improvement's Visionary Leader, Marc Reitzel, said Chadwick's roof had water damage and she didn't have the funds to cover contractors to come and fix it. He said it really needed to be done, saying, "We need to fix the roof first, so she can get other repairs done in her house. You can't do the other repairs until the roof is fixed."
Reitzel comes from a generation of veterans and said helping in this project touches close to his heart.
"They sacrifice time away from their families and they're gone. This is just a way to give back to them for what they've given to us," said Reitzel.
For Chadwick as a female veteran, she felt overwhelmed by the support but said it reminds her she is not forgotten.
"Well it makes me feel good. It makes me feel... what I did in the service counted and I'm getting acknowledged for it," said Chadwick. "It makes me feel like someone cares, you know?"
The building of the roof finished by the afternoon on Wednesday.