Tunnel to Towers Foundation Unveils Smart Home Renovations for Texas Air Force Veteran
ARGYLE, TEXAS [September 14, 2023] — In a private ceremony, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation welcomed Air Force Captain Tonya Andrews back into her newly renovated Argyle, Texas home.
The ceremony was hosted by USMC Corporal Patrick Myers, who received a Tunnel to Towers smart home earlier this year.
During the ceremony, Corporal Myers informed Captain Andrews that Tunnel to Towers paid off the mortgage on her home in addition to the renovations.
“I have no words to describe how much this means to me and my family. To have a permanent, safe place to call home is the biggest stress relief I can imagine,” said Captain Andrews.
Captain Andrews joined the ROTC program in 1998. She enlisted in the Air Force in 2002, to defend her country after the 9/11 attacks.
“9/11 solidified in me my desire to join the Air Force and dedicate my life to the service of this wonderful nation,” said Captain Andrews.
During her time in the Air Force, she served with the 388th Aircraft Maintenance Squad and the 386th Expeditionary MX Group. She deployed to Kuwait during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Captain Andrews was diagnosed with service-connected multiple sclerosis in 2005, which left her paralyzed. She medically retired from the Air Force in 2008, and after many years of rehabilitation, she is able to walk short distances.
The Tunnel to Towers Smart Home Program builds and renovates homes to transform them into specially adapted, smart homes that help our most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders reclaim their day-to-day independence.
To help her get into and out of her home, the Foundation repaired the wheelchair ramps, motorized her exterior doors, and poured a new concrete walkway from her home to her barn. Inside her home, the Foundation remodeled the home’s master bathroom and bedroom to make them wheelchair accessible.
Newly installed smart home technology will allow her to control many of the home’s essential features such as the lights, thermostat, and security from anywhere with an app on her phone.
For Captain Andrews, these changes will have an immediate impact on her day-to-day life. “It’s nice to know that there are still people in the country who still care about their fellow Americans. T2T looked closely at my life and made renovations that gave me back independence that I thought I had lost forever.”
“Captain Andrews answered the call to serve her country at a young age, joining the ROTC. After America was attacked on 9/11 she stepped up to defend her country,” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. “I know the renovations will make an immediate difference in her daily life, and I am honored to ensure she can stay in her home forever.”
Join us on our mission to provide mortgage-free smart homes to our catastrophically injured Veterans nationwide by going to T2T.org and donating just $11 per month.
About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Born from the tragedy of 9/11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation carries out its mission to “do good,” by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially-adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Tunnel to Towers is also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America to Never Forget September 11, 2001.
Visit T2T.org to learn more. Follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
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Media Contact:
Trevor Tamsen — Trevor.Tamsen@t2t.org
