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2016 Top Affiliate Award Winners

/ in News & Media / by Homes for Heroes

Homes for Heroes® recognizes and congratulates the 2016 affiliate award winners as the top performers in the country. Combined, these affiliates have served hundreds of heroes nationwide and provided nearly $1.9 million in savings to firefighters, law enforcement, military members (active, reserve and veterans), EMS, healthcare workers and teachers in 2016.

“These affiliates exemplify what it truly means to be a member of Homes for Heroes. Being a Homes for Heroes affiliate requires more than just helping heroes with real estate needs; it means getting involved in your local community and helping heroes with whatever they need,” says Ruth Johnson, Homes for Heroes CEO. “We’re proud to have each of these individuals as part of our growing team of over 2,200 real estate agents and lenders saying, ‘Thank you for the services you provide every day.’”

The Outstanding Service Award

The Outstanding Service Award is presented to exemplary Homes for Heroes affiliates who consistently go above and beyond in reaching and serving the heroes of their communities.

2016 Outstanding Service Award Recipients

Jim McKinnies – Real Estate Specialist, Indiana
Donna Czerniak – Real Estate Specialist, Missouri
Michelle Holley – Lender Specialist, Utah

2016 Top Affiliate Award Winners

The Top Affiliate Awards are presented to our top performing real estate and lender specialists nationwide, based on hero closings in 2016. The combined savings that these Homes for Heroes affiliates gave back totaled nearly $1.9 million in Hero Rewards®!

Top 10 Real Estate Agents

#1 Brandon Johnson & Heidi Voigt (MN) – 105 Hero Closings
#2 The McKinnies Team (IN) – 104 Hero Closings
#3 Rowena Patton (NC) – 86 Hero Closings
#4 Mario Gonzalez & Susan Severson (FL) – 73 Hero Closings
#5 Craig McKenzie (WA) – 63 Hero Closings
#6 Tracy Tidwell (AR) – 51 Hero Closings
#7 Karmen Schwake (IA) – 50 Hero Closings
#8 Kim Roark (TX) – 49 Hero Closings
#8 Lisa Scales (GA) – 49 Hero Closings
#9 Troy Krabbenhoft (ND) – 48 Hero Closings
#10 Morgan and Shiana Moore (FL) – 44 Hero Closings

Top 10 Lender Affiliates

#1 Travis Newton (OR) – 149 Hero Closings
#2 Jamie Harrington (NC) – 96 Hero Closings
#3 Dave Lehner (MI) – 89 Hero Closings
#4 Kris Crane (WA) – 72 Hero Closings
#5 Kyra Sommerville Moore (IA) – 70 Hero Closings
#6 Shane Tibiatowski (ND) – 67 Hero Closings
#7 Kristy Van Lanen (WI) – 56 Hero Closings
#8 Margo Krogulski (TN) – 54 Hero Closings
#9 Teresa Clark (CO) -53 Hero Closings
#10 William Cunningham (IL) – 52 Hero Closings

2016 Top Affiliate Honorable Mentions

The affiliates shown below make up our remaining real estate and lender specialists who finished 2016 in the top 2% of all Homes for Heroes affiliates nationwide.

Real Estate Agents

Donna Czerniak (MO)
Lisa Teach (MD)
Melinda Kelly Major (TN)
Caleb Shaw (TX)
Mike Stover (WA)
Melissa Powers (TN)
Tiffany Dorn (TN)
Katie Owen (TN)
Brad Hetland (MN)
Kathy Durbin (VA)
Noah George (NC)
Tina Yakel (FL)
Kristi Fox Satsky (TX)
Todd and Andrea Weickardt (WI)
Angela Meek (IA)
David Pautsch (OR)
Lori Muller (WI)
Lindsey Smalling (IN)

Lenders:

Jonathan McKinnies (IN)
Michelle Curtis & Benny Persichetti (NY)
John Engel (VA)
Chad Rogers (CO)
Patience Svor (MN)Thank you all for your service and commitment to our nation’s heroes, and congratulations on your achievements!

Find more information on how to become a Homes for Heroes affiliate real estate agent or lender.

If you’re a hero looking to work with one of our outstanding affiliates to buy, sell or refinance a home AND receive significant savings, please visit HomesForHeroes.com and complete the two-step sign up process and our affiliate real estate or lending specialist in your area will contact you.

Maintaining a Work-Life Balance: 5 Good Habits for a First Responder

/ in News & Media / by Homes for Heroes

By: Steve Blackwell – 30-year First Responder, Chief Deputy (Retired) and Current Hero Outreach Coordinator with Homes for Heroes .

It’s not easy being a first responder in today’s world. The increasing demands and challenges to do more, train more and give more of yourself to your profession has never been more prevalent. As police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMT’s, we experience things on a daily scale that the average person would have a difficult time dealing with as a one-time incident. The profession of a first responder is demanding more and more from us, we tend to pay less attention to taking care of ourselves. Sadly, for many of us, it is our family and personal lives that begin to suffer, ultimately affecting our professional lives as well.

So what can we do for ourselves (and our loved ones) to balance our professional demands with our personal obligations to maintain that healthy work-life balance? Here are 5 good habits that highly successful people embrace that could also help us as first responders stay healthy and successful in our lives and careers.

Take Ownership of Your Time
This is a common theme among those that have successfully risen to achieve their goals while maintaining a happy home life. Make a schedule and build time into it for family, friends, and activities away from the burdens of your profession. This makes your decisions to take on more commitments much easier to manage. This may sound simple, but the most noticeable sign of a person having difficulty with balancing work and life is their time management. Increased sick time usage and tardiness rank as the highest indicators of someone struggling with balancing the demands of work and life. Taking ownership of your time can be a big step to keeping yourself on a positive track.

Take a Knee and Recharge your Batteries
Dedicate time in your schedule to take a knee, allowing yourself to decompress and relax. Make that alone time for yourself or family to foster positive activities and help clear away the negative energy from the daily burdens of the job. This is a great way to recharge your batteries and refocus your energy for the next day. If you find yourself carrying extra stress with you after time at work, you may wish to try something like this Quicksilver hemp oil to help promote a sense of calm and alleviate that stress. Finding ways and resources to free up time in your schedule can be challenging. However, the benefits you gain, especially long term, are worth the time and effort.

Control the Negative
Easier said than done for police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMT’s who deal with the negative in our society every day. We still have the ability to control the negative energy that drains our spirit. Why take on more than we absolutely have to? This includes negative people and influencers, such as social media sites that increasingly have turned into sounding boards for individuals who seek to shame, blame and agitate rather than promote positive messages. Seek out activities, influencers and people that enhance your life and career by cultivating and growing positive interactions and relationships.

Conduct Yourself with Positive Intent
Seek out and determine the positive intent in the activities and interactions you are planning or challenged with. Let that be the measuring stick for deciding what is important for you to commit to and what you need to stay away from. Ask yourself if this activity or interaction is going to enhance you personally and professionally, or is it going to take energy from you. Once again as a first responder, there are going to be times when we cannot avoid the negative. Acting with positive intent, even in many of our high-stress actions and interactions can be a great asset, keeping us in the proper mindset to do our jobs safely and successfully. This means taking care of our mental and physical health, so often people take supplements or other products to keep them relaxed and ready for the next emergency. Luckily there are many places that provide these kinds of products such as Area 52, which is a premium supplement brand, that helps people to destress after a difficult day, especially for us first responders.

Get Moving
We hear it all the time, get some exercise. Another common theme among successful people. Some exercise is better than no exercise. It doesn’t have to be high-intensity training. Determine your “positive intent” for needing more exercise and use the many resources available to put together a plan of action. This could be that alone time you put on your schedule or that family time doing activities that strengthen you and your family. Exercise becomes a great way to de-stress your body and mind and help recharge your batteries, as well as a great way to find things that help you. Things like reading a Testogen review could show it to be beneficial, for instance. Along with some cardio or weights (or whatever type of exercise you prefer), consider introducing a yoga practice into your life. By doing yoga regularly, you may not only be able to de-stress better but also de-clutter your mind and improve your awareness, which might, in turn, help you respond better to the demands of work life. Getting guidance from someone who has a restorative yoga teacher certification or some similar training is probably the best way to go about this, as they are usually knowledgeable and can teach you the right practices. Inculcating the practices should help you build both physical and mental resilience.

These 5 habits are certainly not the only ways to bring about a healthy work-life balance, but they do offer a foundation to build upon and help put ourselves on a healthy path. Building resiliency is important for people in high-pressure professions like ours. We owe it to ourselves and our family to do the things that can help us avoid the slippery slope to permanently damaging our relationships and careers.

Brass Tacks – 4 Steps to Buying a Home

/ in Buying a House / by Homes for Heroes

Buying a home is the most important purchase you’re likely to make. You want to get it right. Doing a little research and planning will go a long way in helping you find the right house that is the best fit for you. To get you started, we have put together four steps that will help you make smart decisions and avoid preventable mistakes when buying a home.

1. Know Your Credit Score – Next to your income, your credit score will have the greatest impact on your ability to finance a home as well as the interest rate you pay on your loan. Your credit score helps lenders identify your ability to pay back borrowed money. Your credit score is available to you through any of the three major credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion or Equifax.

Lenders will use your credit score to determine the dollar amount of your pre-approved home loan. Individuals with lower credit scores are more likely to pay higher interest rates or potentially risk not being pre-approved for home loans. Individuals with higher credit scores are more likely to be pre-approved and pay lower interest rates on home loans.
credit-scores
Knowing your credit score is the first step to empowering yourself financially. You now have an understanding of where your credit stands and if necessary, you have given yourself more time to work on improving it. Do not be discouraged if you have a low credit score. In the next section, we provide steps you can take to improve your score.

2. Know What You Owe. Know What You Don’t. – Improving your credit will require you to pay down outstanding balances due to creditors and eliminate any discrepancies on your credit report that might be holding your credit score down.

To get started, request your free credit report (one per year) through any of the major credit bureaus. Read through it carefully to identify any errors. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), “Credit reports may have mistakes. And if there are mistakes, you are the only one who is likely to find them.” The CFPB has put together a helpful worksheet that includes a checklist for reviewing your credit report and the necessary tools and resources for disputing claims. Download Your Credit Report Review Checklist Here

Cleaning up your credit by reducing outstanding balances that you owe to creditors and eliminating credit errors will have the greatest positive impact on your credit score. However, this can take some time, so you will want to get started sooner rather than later.

3. Set Your Budget – A good budget for buying a home will account for current, future and new expenses. This step will help you decide on a target monthly home payment. Here is how to set your budget:

• CURRENT SPENDING: Track your current spending habits so you know how much more in home payments you can comfortably take on. The CFPB has a useful spending tracker tool that you can use to organize this. Download Your Spender Tracking Tool Here

• FUTURE SPENDING: Budget for new and future expenses. Buying a home is more than trading a rent payment for a home payment. You will need to add in interest, mortgage insurance, home insurance, closing costs and home repair expenses to your budget. In addition, make sure you account for any changes you plan to make to your lifestyle such as having children, travel, childcare, etc.

Now that you have a snapshot of your monthly expenses, you will have a better understanding of the home you can afford.

4. Homes for Heroes Can Help – No matter how much research and planning you do, there will always be value in getting advice from those who have experience in buying a home. Speak to a few people you know who have gone through it. When you’re ready, sign up at HomesForHeroes.com (or use the sign up form below) and our local real estate specialist will contact you. They will answer your questions and walk you through the remaining steps. Don’t worry, there’s no commitment necessary. But, getting the expert advice you need and the savings you deserve will go a long way in getting you into the new home you want. Our Homes for Heroes real estate specialists are committed to providing Hero Rewards® savings for firefighters, law enforcement, military (active, reserve and veterans), healthcare workers, EMS and teachers when buying, selling or refinancing home.

Homes for Heroes Foundation Grants Heroes Over $14,000 in January 2017

/ in HFH Foundation / by Homes for Heroes
  • In the month of January, the Homes for Heroes Foundation was able to assist several heroes with their challenging circumstances by providing $14,285 in grants.
  • Rachel, a disabled veteran in Arizona received $1300.00 for one-month’s rent
  • Rick, a veteran in Minnesota received $1550.00 for first month’s rent
  • Raul, a Florida disabled veteran received $1900.00 for rental deposit
  • Marqueshia, a disabled veteran in Georgia received $700.00 for rental deposit
  • Brandon, a disabled veteran in Georgia received $550.00 for rent
  • Willie, a disabled veteran in Georgia received: $1000.00 for a security deposit
  • James , a Virginia disabled veteran with family received $2000.00 for two-months’ rent
  • Sabrina, a Virginia disabled veteran with family received $1700.00 for two-months’ rent
  • John, a Florida disabled veteran received $1250.00 for HOA fee
  • John, a Florida disabled veteran received $1250.00 for rent
  • Jerri,  a veteran in Rhode Island received $1085.00 for one-months rent

If you are hero in need or want to help those in need, please visit
the Homes for Heroes Foundation page.

Homes for Heroes Foundation Grants Heroes Over $5,400 in December 2016

/ in HFH Foundation / by Homes for Heroes

In the month of December, the Homes for Heroes Foundation was able to assist several heroes with their challenging circumstances by providing over $5,400 in grants.

Check out the list below to see who the foundation was able to help!

Editors Note: This list is subject to change.

  • Justin Wommack, a California firefighter and military veteran with a family received a $1,300 grant to pay for one month’s rent.
  • A homeless, disabled veteran in Georgia (chose not to share his name), received a $590 grant from the Homes for Heroes Foundation to pay for one month’s rent.
  • Cecily Doomes, a homeless, disabled veteran with children in Georgia received a grant for $1860 to cover her deposit, HUD VASH property and electric bill.
  • Bennie Steward, a homeless, disabled veteran in Georgia received a $750 grant to pay for his deposit, rent and electric bill.
  • Valtron West, a homeless, disabled veteran with a child in Georgia received $970 grant to cover his deposit for a rental unit.

If you are hero in need or want to help those in need, please visit
the Homes for Heroes Foundation page.

Miracle No. 12: The Family of Fallen Police Chief Jake R. of Oak Grove, Minnesota

/ in Hero Stories / by Homes for Heroes

A Little About Chief Jake Rehling

Chief Jake Rehling lost his battle to an extremely rare form of T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Cancer on November 16, 2016. Prior to his illness, Chief Rehling was a dedicated police officer who proudly served his local community. He was known for his bravery and generosity which is something the entire community will lose after his tragic death. Numerous members of the police force he served on have expressed their great sadness and shock at the news of his passing. He left behind his wife Brooke and son Aiden. Chief Rehling was an extraordinary man, father, husband and friend; he will be truly missed by his entire community.

Giving A Christmas Miracle

12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Jake R.

As a demonstration of the huge impact he had on so many, the community has rallied around to raise money in his name. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows how difficult planning a funeral for a loved one can be and the last thing they want to be worrying about is money. However, funerals can be a massive expense and really put a strain on an already grieving family. Even the most affordable funerals using one of these low-cost Batesville caskets for sale can still cost thousands. Therefore, any money that can be donated towards the cost of Chief Rehling’s funeral would be greatly appreciated. It would hep ease the burden for the family who are already struggling to come to turns with their tragic loss.

“We were able to honor our Hometown Hero Chief Rehling by presenting his wife Brooke a check in the amount of $1,000 in his honor.Brooke was able to use her gift towards funeral costs for her late husband.”

-Nichole Conrad

Homes for Heroes Affiliate

Miracle No. 11: Nathaniel G. of Bryan Texas

/ in Hero Stories / by Homes for Heroes

A Little About Nathaniel G.

A year ago last week, I was able to surprise former clients Racine and Nathaniel G. with a $2000 check, which included a $500 gift from Homes for Heroes®. The gift went towards paying bills while Racine went through over a year of aggressive cancer treatments. Through it all, she still tried to work so she could purchase a home; something that could be a part of her.

When her baby Elijah was just three months old, Racine, 26, was diagnosed with Stage Four Metastatic Breast Cancer. She fought the disease with her husband Nathaniel, a Marine Veteran and Police Officer, by her side.

Sadly with time, the cancer spread throughout her body and despite all of the surgeries and treatments, we lost our warrior princess to this horrible disease. She never gave up the fight and was an amazing mother and wife. Racine will be forever remembered for her fighting spirit, unwavering faith and ability to instill the same in others. Her ability to change lives was amazing.

Giving A Christmas Miracle

12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Nathaniel G.

When Homes for Heroes notified me that Nathaniel was chosen to receive one of the 12 Days of Christmas Miracles, I wanted to make sure he received something more than just money for bills. However, when I asked him what his Christmas Wish was, all he said was, “Kristi, all I care about right now is my little boy and doing everything I can to keep him in his current daycare.”

Elijah turned two this week and is attending a bilingual daycare, so he’s learning Spanish too. The daycare employees are familiar with the family’s story and Nathaniel wants Elijah to have some comfort in his life considering he misses his mommy each day. Going from two incomes down to one has been difficult and with a mound of bills to pay, the change has only been harder to make. While mourning the love of his life, Nathaniel keeps his chin up and presses on with his little buddy by his side, putting Elijah first in all things.

We are so proud to honor Nathaniel this Christmas Miracle! Thank you, Homes for Heroes, for your part in this. On top of the $500 miracle, I added $700; so he received a total of $1200, which will cover eight weeks of daycare for Elijah.

Thank you again!

-Kristi Fox Satsky

REALTOR®/ Century 21 Beal, Inc./ Homes for Heroes® Affiliate

Miracle No. 10: Chela A. of Joliet, Illinois

/ in Hero Stories / by Homes for Heroes

A Little About Chela A.

Chela A. is a wonderful supporter of many local organizations, but most of her time is directed towards our military and veterans.

She was invited to be on the National Board for Military Mama Network (MMN), a non­ for-profit military and family support group based out of Joliet, Illinois. Chela was chosen to be the civilian voice on the board and she is the “most remarkable civilian” known by the other board members.

Chela takes her role as a board member very seriously and has created many outreach opportunities for the MMN. She coordinates MMN’s presence in schools, with scouts and other civic organizations. Whether she is helping with expos and craft show appearances, card workshops (making cards to give deployed troops) or finding local families and connecting them with MMW, Chela is a tireless advocate for our troops and their families.

Yet, her work doesn’t stop there! She coordinates volunteer opportunities with our veterans, such as pancake breakfasts and fish fries, welcome home parades, Memorial Day events helping elderly veterans, placing graveside wreaths at Christmas and much more.

Chela has a unique gift when it comes to connecting those in need and being able to help them. Her heart is her service. There isn’t enough time in the day to share all the ways Chela advocates for and supports our service member’s families. All are humbled by her efforts all the time.

Giving A Christmas Miracle

12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Chela A.

Chela is a woman of modest means.

On top of making her monthly mortgage payments, making sure her family’s needs are met and raising her children at home, she is also putting one of her children through school at St. Louis University.

There is nobody more deserving of this Christmas Miracle. Thank you for making it possible!

-Glen Marino

First Centennial Mortgage/ Homes for Heroes Affiliate

Miracle No. 9: Genevieve M. of Albuquerque, New Mexico

/ in Hero Stories / by Homes for Heroes

A Little About Genevieve M. & Her Story

On the morning of Black Friday, I was sitting in a coffee shop and over heard a couple talking about a medical assistant who works in the oncology pediatrics unit at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH). Instantly intrigued, I began my search for this medical assistant. While it took me a few days to hunt this hero down, I finally found her and she is more than deserving of this Christmas Miracle.

Our hero is Genevieve M., she is a wife, mother of four daughters and, at the time, a medical assistant in the UNMH Pediatrics Clinic Unit.

In 2012, Genevieve came across a 10-year-old Native American girl that was suffering from several health complications. In my talks with the hospital’s staff, I came across Dr. Craig Wong who was able to give me a patient synopsis of the little girl:

“I am a one of four board certified Pediatric Nephrologists for the University of New Mexico and we care for all children with kidney problems throughout the state of New Mexico. The patient that Genevieve is offering help to is a 10-year-old Native American girl who was born with Spina Bifida and has associated kidney problems. Due to kidney failure, many children have a difficult time growing and this young girl is the average height of most six-year-olds.

There is only one dedicated dialysis center for children in New Mexico and it is in Albuquerque. In order to treat her kidney failure, this young girl’s family has to commute from their home, which is a three to four hour drive each way, to the dialysis center. Unfortunately, her kidney failure is complicated by hypertension that has been difficult to control and is now so severe she has suffered from seizures. Undoubtedly, the donation of a kidney to this young girl would help her grow normally, control her blood pressure, get her body back to functioning normally without dialysis and allow her to have normal days at school. Without the donation, we all believe that she is at high risk for another seizure and even worse, dying. Without Genevieve’s life-saving gift, we would be waiting months to even years for a kidney transplant off of the deceased donor list. This is an amazing sacrifice for someone like Genevieve to make; to reach out and donate her kidney to one of our patients. She is sacrificing so much, including finances and time from work and her family. Everyone that has come up to me, including other pediatric specialists at the institution, believe that Genevieve’s gesture of kindness and love to this child (who is not related to her in any way) is amazing. Genevieve had told me that the patient is the same age as her daughter and she felt the need to do something for her. She is giving this patient the opportunity to have a normal life as a child, which is truly a blessing.”

In speaking with Genevieve’s coworkers and the staff that is associated with the clinic and oncology unit, they all spoke very highly of Genevieve and, as Dr. Wong noted, all agreed that if anyone is deserving of some type of financial assistance this holiday season, it would be her.

I finally had the chance to speak with Genevieve to hear her feelings and gather her input about the situation.

She explained that she met the young girl through her many trips to the clinic. Since she was responsible for taking vitals and performing blood work on her, she said she was able to make an instant connection with the girl. Genevieve also said that it helped she looked a lot like one of her daughters and was around the same age as her. Not only did she make a connection with the young girl, she also made a connection with her mother.

As the run-ins and appointments continued, Genevieve began to see the toll that the illness was starting to take on the girl and her family. The young girl had mentioned that she was tired of being sick all the time and Genevieve noticed that her mother was beginning to get more distraught over the situation.

Earlier this year, Genevieve had the conversation with her husband about donating her kidney to the girl. She explained how it was a huge decision for her and she was extremely grateful for her husband’s support on the matter. After reaching out to the hospital, she was referred to the Stanford Hospital Kidney Donation and Transplant Center. Communications began with Stanford in May of this year and the process began of seeing if Genevieve could donate her kidney to the young girl.

The process was long and required blood tests, MRIs, kidney tests and biopsies, along with psych evaluations. The center also recommended that Genevieve loose 10 pounds to clear any pre-diabetic possibilities that may show up. After passing all the evaluations and tests, Genevieve received the good news that she would be a good candidate for the transplant and was approved for surgery on October 19. Her flight to Palo Alto is on December 25, admission to surgery is set for December 26 and the all day surgery is scheduled for December 27.

Being selected for one of the Christmas Miracles would assist Genevieve with airfare for her family so they can be with her at the hospital during this Christmas season. She is so thankful for her family’s support through this decision and feels so blessed that she can give the young girl a chance at a normal life.

In talking with her and asking her what her biggest concern is through the entire process, she replied that she is just praying that the young girl’s body accepts her kidney without any problems or complications; a truly selfless concern at this time before this major surgery.

Giving A Christmas Miracle

12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Genevieve M.

Of all the firefighters, military men and women and police officers that I work with on a daily basis, I can honestly say that Genevieve stands above all. What we do on a daily basis is something that we follow as a duty, or a calling and what Genevieve is doing for this child is a miracle and selfless. Witnessing a stranger give a piece of herself to save another life is simply beautiful.

After learning that Genevieve was selected to receive one of the 12 Christmas Miracles, it took a couple days to coordinate a time to meet up with her. I was finally able to catch her at work and was able to chat about her Christmas Wish.

We sat down and I explained that because of the miracle that she is doing for another, we wanted to help her with some of the expenses that she may have or acquire. I asked if I could apply this money towards airfare for her family so they could be together in California before and after the surgery. She replied that coworkers and the hospital’s staff have already covered the airfare. I then asked if the money could go towards the hotel expenses in California while they are there and she said that a trust had already made sure that those expenses would be taken care of. I smiled, shook my head and asked if I could apply it towards holiday bills, extra presents for her children, a day at the spa… Anything that could help her and her family during the holidays. Without taking even a second to think, Genevieve replied:

“We don’t need anything. We have all we need. What I would like is to take this $500 and donate it to Shalie Yazzie’s gofundme page so the money can help out her family with the expenses that they will have during the recovery period.”

Thank you, Genevieve, for letting me be a part of your story, for letting me share it and letting me share your generosity with as many people I can. You have displayed the true meaning of Christmas and I hope your actions inspire many more out there in the world. You are genuinely an amazing person, a guardian angel to this young girl and a true Hero to myself.

-Mario Montoya

Qualifying Broker/Owner, Homes For Heroes Affiliate

If you would like to donate to Shalie Yazzie’s gofundme page, please click on the link below:

https://www.gofundme.com/shalieyazzie?ssid=838572496&pos=1

12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Genevieve M.
12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Genevieve M.

Miracle No. 8: Shawnell W. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

/ in Hero Stories / by Homes for Heroes

A Little About Shawnell W.

Throughout her life, Shawnell has experienced homelessness and everything that comes with being homeless. She continued to experience difficulties in life after her separation from the military. However, Shawnell credits her strong faith in God and an organization called Veteran Leadership Program of Western PA in helping her turn her life around. Since turning things around, Shawnell has obtained an education, a full time job and the ability to have a steady income to provide food and housing for herself and children.

Giving A Christmas Miracle

12 Days of Christmas Miracles: Shawnell W.

It would be an understatement to say that Shawnell was beyond excited and grateful for this Christmas miracle:

“The Christmas Miracle from Homes for Heroes® was unbelievable!”

As mentioned before, Shawnell has children, two daughters and a son. Unfortunately due to her tight income, she was unable to buy them the dream gifts they wished for. With the Christmas Miracle, we were able to give her children just what they wanted for Christmas. Each of her daughters got an American Girl Doll and her son got the game he wanted for his Playstation. On top of being able to give her children their dream gifts, American Girl Doll provided a 15 percent discount and the service representative also threw in some additional pajamas on her behalf (it was a very touching moment when she did that).

After purchasing all the gifts, I met Shawnell at her house and we quickly stashed everything in the trunk of her car. I then had her sit in my car and listen to a song that I thought she would enjoy. It reminded us both that God will advocate for those who seek, which brought her to tears. She was so touched by the song and this entire experience that she is now determined to see what she can do to give some of the homeless she crosses paths with a Christmas Miracle. She’s spreading the holiday cheer!

Thank you, for the opportunity to bring such great joy into her world!

-Jim Skal

Mortgage Lender with Victorian Finance LLC/ Homes for Heroes Affiliate

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