Season After Season: The Corona Blog

Homes For Our Troops hosts #landscapechat on 9/11

Posted by Chris Sabbarese on Fri, Sep, 06, 2013 @ 11:09 AM

Corona tools 911Some might argue that for everything bad, something good happens.  It's not an easy task when you think about those early morning events of 9/11/01.  So many Americans died that day, while countless others were affected in some way from the horrific images that unfolded in the media.  While many of Americans had eventually went on with their lives, there were brave men and women that went overseas to face the terror and protect those of us here at home.  In the process many soldiers lost their lives and for those fortunate to come home, many were severely wounded.

Building Homes, Rebuilding Lives

That's were this post begins for us at Corona.  Recently I got a call from Ahmed Hassan, celebrity landscaper from the DIY Network and HGTV Magazine.  He told me about a few projects that he was working on in our "backyard" and needed some landscaping tools.  He explained that he partnered with Volvo Rents, building houses for soldiers who were severely injured during their service in the military.  While I never served in the military, I have the utmost respect for those brave men and women who sacrifice their lives so that I can live the American dream.  Of course, I wanted to do what I could to support their efforts.  

describe the image  VOLVO VR CMYK logo

Ahmed and Volvo Rents partnered together in support of the founding organization, Homes For Our Troops on 3 projects here in Southern California, 1 in Temecula and 2 in El Cajon.  On each of the sites, they will construct a home from the ground up complete with finished landscape.  The homes are built with the soldier in mind throughout the process and the only thing they need to do is take the keys, move in and enjoy their new home.

Getting the Word Out on #Landscapechat

Upon learning more about the organization and what their supporter do for our injured servicemen, I couldn't help wanting to spread the word.  I wanted to let others know how they are giving back to those who have sacraficed so much for others.  Since Ahmed and landscaping was going to be involved I thought it would make a really great topic on our weekly  #landscapechat.  I called our partner Colleen at ValleyCrest, to see what was available on chat calendar.  She thought it was a great idea and said we had only open Wednesday slot available...September 11th.

Homes For Our Troops logoThrough the grace of Twitter, Volvo Rents, Ahmed Hassan, Homes For Our Troops and our chat partner ValleyCrest, we've pulled together what I believe to be one of those "something good" moments on a day that is typically seen as a sad, solemn and horrific day in recent American history.

You're Invited to the Chat

What makes it even more special, is that we get to share these great works with everyone who wants to attend the chat.  We'll be hosting a special 90 minute chat, beginning at 10:30AM PST on 9/11.  You can log on to the #landscapechat Twubs and watch the conversation unfold live.

We'll give some background on those participating, the projects we are working on, the people involved, and ways for you to volunteer at a future Homes For Our Troops projects.  And yes, you can even give a shoutout directly to Ahmed, just by logging in with your Twitter account and joining the conversation using the #landscapechat hastag.  We invite you to come ask questions to the panel, get details of the projects, and be part of the #landscapechat community on 9/11. 

Something Bad, Something Good

I'm not sure if this proves the theory about "from everything bad, comes with something good".  But one thing I do know, being able to give back in some way to soldiers who have sacrificed so much...well, suffice it to say, that's about as good as it gets.

How about you?  Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and don't forget to mark you calendar and join us for the live chat!

Images courtesy of Ahmed Hassan, Volvo Rents, Homes For Our Troops 

Topics: Corona Tools, #Landscapechat, Landscaping

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