Last Updated on January 23, 2024 by Luke Feldbrugge
Burke LEAF (Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation), located in Morganton, NC is a law enforcement nonprofit collaboration of officers and community citizens who are committed to relieving financial burdens of local law enforcement officers. In December 2023, Investigator, Cody Storie and his family lost their home to a fire. Because of Burke LEAF and a grant from the Homes for Heroes Foundation, some of the burden weighing heavily on Cody and his family following the fire was lifted.
Burke LEAF Grant Check Presentation with Jay Flynn
The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded Burke LEAF a $5,000 hero grant to provide support for Investigator Cory Storie, who lost his home to a fire.
Jay Flynn, Foundation Director with Homes for Heroes, meets with Anthony Paterno, Burke LEAF, President and Chief Jason Whisnant, Administrative Liaison for Burke LEAF and Chief Morganton Public Safety. Any Swanson, Administrative Specialist and Burke LEAF Board Member. Investigator, Cody Storie, Morganton Public Safety, and Homes for Heroes Real Estate Specialist, Chris Gettys to briefly discuss the Burke Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation and how the funds received from the Homes for Heroes Foundation grant will assist their initiatives.
You can watch the full interview here or read the transcript of the interview below.
Jay: Hey, everybody. I’m Jay Flynn, Homes for Heroes Foundation Director. I’m here today with Chief Whisnant of Morganton Public Safety, Investigator Storie with Morganton Public Safety, Chris Gettys, one of our Homes for Heroes real estate specialists. And, we’re here because of the Homes for Heroes Foundation and the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving. Chris and I are honored to present Burke LEAF with a Homes for Heroes Foundation grant for $5,000. Congratulations!
So let’s take a minute and talk about Burke LEAF. So, Chief, tell us how Burke LEAF came to be and about its mission of service.
Chief Whisnant: Yeah, absolutely. So Burke LEAF was founded out of a necessity. One of our officers became disabled on a traffic stop. He suffered a stroke on duty. Realizing that even though there are on duty events that may cause a person to become disabled, there’s certain financial gaps that are not quite met by everything that an employer may support.
So Burke LEAF was created to help bridge those gaps. The financial gaps when our local law enforcement would happen to go down, and need some additional financial support readily available immediately.
All the funds raised through our organization stays directly here in our county and is made available to law enforcement officers within less than 24 hours.
Jay: Wow. That’s really an awesome call for sure. So, Chris, you nominated Burke LEAF for this grant. Please tell us why you nominated Burke LEAF
Chris: Through social media, Burke LEAF had a post on Facebook about one of their officers who had a house fire and really needed assistance. So that’s why we sprung into action to make things happen for them.
Jay: Chief, so the Homes Heroes Foundation is honored to help Burke LEAF with this $5,000 grant, and Chris kind of alluded to it. This grant has a real special purpose. Tell us a little bit about that.
Chief Whisnant: Yeah, that’s right. Investigator Cody Storie’s home burned down just prior to the Christmas holiday. Cody and his family lost everything that they owned and the community just rallied around him and his family. And, we put things out on social media.
And, you know, we’re just so blessed to have organizations like Homes for Heroes who quickly step up and recognize the fact that, you know, we have a hero amongst us and they need support. Coming into our local community to make an impact is huge.
Jay: Awesome. Investigator Storie, Cody, if I may? This grant, what does it mean to you and your family?
Cody: Well, I’m almost speechless. You know, just a little over two weeks ago, I was standing outside of my house watching it burn down, not knowing what I was going to do. And very quickly, through my faith in Jesus Christ and through organizations like Homes for Heroes and Burke LEAF, everything is going to be okay now for me and my family.
So it’s really made a big impact in our lives. And we can’t thank everyone enough.
Jay: The Homes for Heroes Foundation is honored to assist and help you guys in your time of need. Chris, anything to add?
Chris: You know, we’re just so thankful for your service and we’re glad we can be here to help you and do anything we can. We’re here in the future for you as well. Yeah, for any of the officers in the entire valley. We’re here.
Chief Whisnant and Cody: Thank you very much.
Jay: So, Chief, I know you guys don’t have a website, but Burke Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation (LEAF) has a Facebook page and we will share that with the folks that are watching so they can follow you guys and connect with you guys.
Burke LEAF is a wonderful nonprofit, doing such great things. There is a PayPal link to make a donation to Burke LEAF to help support this particular call. We’re also going to post that link in the video, too, to see if we can help out further and help Cody and his family get through this.
Thank you guys for joining us today and taking a few minutes to hear about the great work that Burke LEAF is doing.
Join us next time to hear about other nonprofits across the country that we partner with to help our heroes when they’re in need.
I hope everyone has a great rest of your day. And remember, just take a minute today to say thank you to a hero.
Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving
Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.
To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.
If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing, simply sign up to speak with a member of their team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.
Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.
If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.
Thank you for watching another Homes for Heroes Foundation grant video about the impact it is making nationally and in local hero communities, along with hero supporting nonprofits who use the grant dollars they receive to assist the heroes they serve.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Homes for Heroes YouTube channel to get notified of the new hero grants awarded by the Homes for Heroes foundation.
