A remarkable story of kindness and giving back to the community, by a group of Florida firefighters is melting hearts of people on social media.
The firefighters decided to paint a blind World War II veteran’s home over the weekend.
William Velez, 89 and his wife were very grateful after a dozen members of the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and their families painted their house on Saturday, as part of Paint Your Heart Out Tampa, a volunteering initiative.
One of the volunteers, Ken Forward said that it was natural for the firefighters to give back to the community. Forward added, “To assist the community, to serve the community, and that’s what we’re doing today, he’s not able to get around and maintain his home the way he’d like.” He further added, “He told me he painted his home 17 years ago by himself. But now with his impairment, he can’t do it, so we’re here to help him.”
Along with a fresh coat of paint, his home was also installed with smoke detectors by the fire rescue volunteers. “Mr. Velez and his wife came out and met with us, and just to see his appreciation and gratitude is rewarding,” added Forward.
Paint Your Heart Out Tampa has over 75,000 volunteers who have painted 3,000 houses. The mission of this initiative “is to enrich lives and renew our community through annual volunteer efforts to paint and beautify our senior, veteran, or disabled neighbors’ homes…one paint brush at a time,” states their website.
