When Army Staff Sergeant William Castillo returned from his last tour of duty in 2007, it was not the scenario or hero's welcome he'd pictured. The sole survivor of an IED attack, he returned to the States without one of his legs, just 27 years old, and he'd spend two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., learning how to walk and speak again before he was deemed well enough, physically, to go home. Home. That concept was tricky for Sergeant Castillo to wrap his head around; where is home for a service member who has spent ten years going wherever the Army deemed him necessary?
The answer, it turned out, could be found in the organization Building Homes for Heroes. They contacted Sergeant Castillo while he was recovering from his injuries to offer their unique services to the Purple Heart Award recipient. They'd build him a home fully adapted to accommodate his war-time injury and do it mortgage-free. It came just in the nick of time from the young soldier, who was struggling.
I always wondered how veterans become homeless. I realized during that transition that I was going through substance abuse, mental depression, and suicidal thoughts that if it weren't for the home, I would have been homeless. In the home, I was able to heal and find God.
Now a Paralympian and Captain of the United States Seated Para Bobsled team, Sergeant Castillo credits Building Homes for Heroes with providing him a home, a haven, while he processed trauma, battled his addictions, and improved his mental health; in short, Castillo says they saved his life. Sergeant Castillo's is just one of hundreds of success stories Building Homes for Heroes made possible. Lowe's has been proud to support Building Homes for Heroes since 2020, and now even more with Round Up for Charity. By rounding up their transaction to the nearest whole dollar at checkout in stores, customers can support the construction and modification of homes for injured veterans and first responders.
Sergeant Castillo urges anyone shopping at Lowe's to consider the people you'll be helping by rounding up, saying, "Those $0.20 to you, that second for you to say 'yes' ripples so far into people's lives. I'm one story out of hundreds of stories of veterans who could not have made it, dreams that I would never have accomplished, and it started with that one person with those $0.20. It adds up quickly and it changes lives and saves families."
From now until August 4th, Lowe's customers can Round Up for Charity, which will benefit Building Homes for Heroes and all the men and women they support.
