A Holiday Gift For A Special Veteran With Team Depot

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot 

This year I had the incredible opportunity to work with Team Depot for their annual Celebration of Service (COS). You may remember when I blogged about the kids workshop I hosted on Veterans Day, or the  DIY Planter Box I made to use at a home makeover for a local Veteran here in Detroit. These were some of the projects I had the chance to work on as part of the Celebration of Service movement.

Recently, Team Depot reached out and asked if I would create a custom art piece to gift to a local couple (Ken and Erin, both Veterans) for the holidays. Ken and Erin are in the process of receiving a home makeover through Team Depot, and the custom art piece was something we thought they could use in their new space. After contemplating a few different ideas, I came up with the idea of making them a Large Scale Rustic DIY Wooden American Flag.

A full tutorial on this project was shared on the blog last week. If you missed it, click here.

Over the holidays, I visited Ken in his home along with my friend Stephanie from Habitat For Humanity Oakland County, and presented him with the custom art piece. It was an honor and a joy to visit with Ken, have the opportunity to thank him for his service and talk with him about the exciting makeover about to take place inside his home. 

Working with Team Depot and getting hands-on involved in local projects to help Veterans has been an amazing experience. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to witness what The Home Depot Foundation is doing for our Veterans and also to have the chance to get to know some of our heroes, hear their personal stories of service and thank them. 

I hope that Ken and Erin are enjoying their new Rustic DIY American Flag. I can't wait to see their home makeover with Team Depot take shape. 

If you would like more information on how you can get involved with Team Depot, please visit the Team Depot website or follow Team Depot on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 

Online Design Services are now available. Please click here for details.

 * I acknowledge that The Home Depot Foundation is partnering with me to participate in this Celebration of Service program (the “Program”). As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot Foundation and its non-profit partners. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

Veteran Home Makeover With Team Depot

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot 

Last week I had the most amazing experience with Team Depot. We began a home makeover for a very special veteran couple that will include a new kitchen and bathroom as well as repairs and updates to the exterior of thier home. Last Thursday, we started the makeover by tackling the exterior projects including fresh paint, new chain link fencing, new outdoor lighting, cement repairs, a new concrete paver patio, a brand new privacy fence, outdoor patio furniture makeovers, new porch steps and railing as well as a few aesthetic additions. 

Before I get into all the exciting details, let me introduce our very deserving veteran, Ken…

(Ken and myself).

Ken lives in this home with his wife (who is also a veteran) and two adorable dogs. It was such a pleasure to meet him and work along side him and the Team Depot volunteer force. The day started early, we congregated outside Kens home for introductions. The entire team bonded and a sense of community was instantly in the air.

The very first project was the installation of a new flag pole followed by a dedication of the makeover and an official thank you to Ken and his wife for their service. The dedication was finished with the group joining together in The Pledge of Allegiance. And, of course the Team Depot cheer, nice and loud so the whole neighborhood knew who was in town.

It was obvious throughout the day that helping our Veterans is extremely personal to The Home Depot and it's employees (who happen to make up the Team Depot volunteer force). This is largely due to the fact that more than 35,000 of Home Depot associates have previously served or are currently serving in the U.S. Military.

Thousands of Home Depot associates spend their time off volunteering their talents as members of Team Depot in communities across the country. It was fun getting to know everyone as we worked to make improvements to the exterior of Kens home. Working together with these amazing people disguised the "work" we were doing as fun.

Not only did the projects we completed give Kens home a bright, fresh updated look, but the transformational projects helped to improve the safety and accessibility of his home for years to come.

Our team was able to complete most of the exterior work in just one day. 

Here are a few closeups of the projects we completed...

…and here are a few side by side before and after pics...

The Refreshed Garage and Brand New Privacy Fence

The Updated Front Porch, New Sidewalk and Steps, and Fresh Paint

(You may recognize the black and white tiled planter on the front porch. If you missed the post last week, this was a DIY project I made just for Ken and his wife. The full tutorial can be found here).

New Chain Link Fence

Brand New Paver Patio and Re-Finished Picnic Table

TaDa! Next it's on to the Kitchen and Bathroom where Team Depot will begin the makeover on the insde of Kens home!

Thanks for letting me share this amazing experience with you. If you would like to participate in the Celebration of Service movement, you can help to give back to our veterans by posting a selfie of you helping out our veterans with the hashtag #serviceselfie. For each service selfie shared, Team Depot will donate $1, upt to $1 million, to nonprofits that help veterans in need. 

Follow Team Depot on Facebook, Twitter andInstagram. 

Online Design Services are now available. Please click here for details. 

 * I acknowledge that The Home Depot Foundation is partnering with me to participate in this Celebration of Service program (the “Program”). As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot Foundation and its non-profit partners. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.