By Erica Thomas, Managing Editor
CENTER POINT — As part of an international service day, local real estate agents with Keller Williams put boots on the ground on Thursday, May 9, 2019, to help local veterans.
Red stands for RENEW, ENERGIZE and DONATE, and that’s exactly what the chairman for Red Day, Jeff DeShazo, said the agents were doing at the Veterans Center off Old Springville Road. They painted rooms, did drywall repair, put down flooring, put together bed frames, pressure-washed the outside of the home, landscaped the property and organized the pantry.
“All over the world on the same day…we give where we live,” said DeShazo. “We took a vote and the vote was unanimous that we wanted to serve local veterans and homeless veterans.”
DeShazo said this service project is a show of appreciation for what veterans have done for others.
“They put their lives on the line first,” DeShazo said. “While we were sleeping at home or watching our families, going to work, raising our kids, they became the tip of the sword so we didn’t have to go. They went in our place.”
Three Hots and A Cot CFO Rich Cislak said sprucing up the home is a constant effort and he appreciates all the help from the community.
“I’m so thankful that they picked us,” Cislak said. “It means a lot. It just shows the veterans that there are people in the community who care. We always invite the community out here. We want them to be here.”
The average stay for a veteran at the Three Hots and a Cot Veterans Center is three to four months. After they receive the help they need from the organization, they are able to move on towards independent living.
For more information on the center or to donate, go to www.CotsforVets.org.