Home Depot Foundation, volunteers repair, upgrade Tigard veteran’s home

TIGARD Ore. (KPTV) - The Home Depot Foundation is helping veterans nationwide all month in honor of Veteran’s Day.

This week, they’re teaming up with Meals on Wheels to upgrade a home of a local veteran, 84-year-old Dennis Keller of Tigard.

Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has helped renovate and enhance more than 55,000 veteran homes. The foundation’s Annual Operation Surprise say this is their busiest campaign ever, working on over 500 projects across the country in the month of November.

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Keller served in the army from 1955 to 1960 and has lived in his home since 1983. But he says it eventually became difficult to get around safely, especially going up and down the stairs.

The $13,000 project involved plenty of upgrades and repairs, and took about 80 volunteers to help during two days of work.

“This is really something, like I said before, it’s almost like a circus all these people,” Keller said.

Geri Down with the Home Depot Foundation said Keller enjoyed spending time with every volunteer.

“He has talked to everybody - he’s all in it,” Down said. “He literally, yesterday, day one in the rain, was outside the entire day having a good time.”

The team first removed an unsafe deck and installed a new one. They built a shed, cleaned up the landscape and installed a walking path to the backyard.

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Keller said putting in a handicap ramp was the most important thing

“I like to be outside all the time anyways so I can do that now without all the work,” Keller said.

Then the team surprised Keller with a new lawnmower, patio furniture, a pergola and Kellers’ favorite, a brand-new flagpole.

“I had flag poles before, but they kept getting stolen. They steal the flag and the last time they took and cut off the pole. Took the whole flag, and pole and all.”

The Home Depot Foundation says they’ve pledged to invest half a billion dollars in veteran causes by 2025.

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