St. Louis, Mo.–The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has provided flooring for its 74th home in support of the Gary Sinise Foundation R.I.S.E. program (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment). The R.I.S.E. program builds mortgage-free, custom, specially adapted smart homes for severely wounded veterans and first responders. The home dedication for U.S. Marine Corps Corporal (Ret.) Jose Armenta took place on November 11, in Bonita, Calif. Flooring for the project was donated by NWFA member Somerset.
Cpl. Armenta joined the Marines in 2007, graduating at the top of his class in Military Police School and receiving the Top Dog Award for his outstanding performance in the K-9 Handlers Course. He spent several years training military dogs before serving in Okinawa, Japan. In 2011, he was deployed to Afghanistan where he participated in more than 50 combat missions with his bomb dog, Zenit. In August, while conducting a security patrol with his platoon, he stepped on a pressure plate containing more than 10 pounds of homemade explosives, resulting in the loss of both legs above the knee.
“Corporal Armenta underwent 13 surgeries following his injury, and after medically retiring from the Marine Corps in 2013, he continued his service, working as a police dispatcher of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego,” said NWFA president and CEO, Michael Martin. “At the same time, he returned to school to study finance. After answering personal finance questions for his colleagues at work, he recognized that a financial planning career offered him an opportunity to help others, and began volunteering with local non-profits teaching financial literacy courses and preparing tax forms for low-income families. We’re honored to partner with Somerset to provide beautiful wood floors for his new home.”
In addition to the 74 homes already completed, NWFA currently is working with its members to source wood flooring for 12 additional R.I.S.E. homes in various stages of planning and construction. Currently, 154 NWFA member companies have donated product, logistics and installation services in locations throughout the United States, with a total value of more than $6.9 million.