Homes for Our Troops Provides a Helping Hand on ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

Homes for Our Troops Provides a Helping Hand on ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

A new home for a wounded Iraq War Veteran and his family

TAUNTON, Mass., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Homes for Our Troops, a non- profit organization that builds and remodels homes for severely wounded veterans, announced today that it will be featured in the two hour September 25, 2005 season premiere of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Homes for Our Troops teamed up with the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew and local builder Clay Powers to build a new home for Master Sgt. Luis Rodriquez, a medic with Army's 101st Airborne Division who was injured delivering supplies to an orphanage near Mosul, Iraq. He lost his right leg and two fingertips in the attack.

"We were thrilled to help build a new home for a true American hero, Sgt. Rodriquez," said Homes for Our Troops founder, John Gonsalves.

Sgt. Rodriquez and his family were sent on a 7-day vacation courtesy of ABC while the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew, members of the 101st Airborne Division and Homes for Our Troops tore down the Rodriquez's home and built a brand new home with special modifications to help Sgt. Rodriquez deal with the challenges of his injuries sustained in Iraq.

John Gonsalves, a contractor from Massachusetts, founded Homes for Our Troops in 2004 to help wounded veterans modify their homes. The non-profit organization assists injured service men and women and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and coordinating the process of building a new home or adapting an existing home for handicapped accessibility.

"Our mission is as simple as our name: homes for our troops," said Gonsalves. "When it comes to taking care of our soldiers and their families, there is no "left" or "right," there is only a responsibility to do right by them and that's our goal," Gonsalves concluded.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA. The series is executive-produced by Tom Forman. The show airs Sundays (8:00 - 9:00 p.m. ET), on the ABC Television Network. The season premiere will air Sunday September 25, 2005 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. ET.

Source: Homes for Our Troops

CONTACT: Kate Dando, +1-202-457-1817

Web site: http://www.homesforourtroops.org/

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