San Diego College Students to Restore Home of Disabled Marine Veteran as Part of H3 program

SAN DIEGO, CA, September 06, 2012 (Press-News.org) San Diego college students and contractors will volunteer to carry out the fourth home restoration project as part of Embrace's "Healing our Heroes' Homes" (H3) program on September 15th, 2012 and September 16th, 2012.

With a focus to restore the homes of low-income, disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace's mission to mobilize college student volunteers to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities.

"The opportunity serve another veteran who has given so much of himself to protect our nation is an honor for everyone involved. Staff Sergeant Mark Hupp and his wife Breeanna are wonderful people," said Embrace Founder, Sean Sheppard.

The weekend-long effort, which lasts from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. both days, will take place at the Lemon Grove home of wounded US Marine Corps (USMC) Staff Sergeant Mark Hupp. Hupp was medically retired from the USMC in March of 2012 for injuries sustained while conducting counter improvised explosive device operations in Fallujah, Iraq. With several of his friends being members of the Wounded Warrior Battalion, and Hupp's home serving as a social gathering place for them, the home will be transformed into a user friendly environment for wheelchair bound veterans.

Sponsors of this project include The Home Depot Foundation, The Weingart Foundation and McCarthy Building. The Home Depot Foundation provided a $15,000 grant for materials/supplies needed for this project.

McCarthy Building will be volunteering a large number of contractors, donating available materials and providing Embrace with all the proceeds from its golf tournament held on August 17th, 2012.

Shea Homes Superintendent, Adam Chapp, has assisted with technical guidance for overall restoration and communication with McCarthy Building.

The project for the Lemon Grove home (6604 MacArthur Dr.) includes major landscaping, flooring, the widening of doorways, 'Greening', painting and building handicap ramps.

Financial investors for H3's 4th mission are The Weingart Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation and Galinson Family Fund.

Embrace's H3 program aims to create a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic service learning experience for college students, connect young adults to veteran community members in need, raise awareness of low income, disabled veterans, and increase the value and efficient use of their homes.

For more information on Embrace and the H3 program, visit http://www.embrace1.org/h3.

About Embrace

Founded in 2000, Embrace uses community service to bring diverse groups of people together to bring about social wellness in our society. The organization focuses on the utilization of college students and recent graduates to develop their leadership qualities and remedy community problems such as health disparities and homelessness on a volunteer basis. Founder Sean Sheppard's ultimate goal is to bring about legislation that makes community service mandatory for all college students that attend state funded institutions of higher education.
For more information on Embrace, visit http://www.embrace1.org