Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Carlos Henaogallego and his family received a key on Thursday to their new — free — residence in Homestead, Florida.
Wells Fargo and the Military Warriors Support Foundation worked together to donate the home to Henaogallego and his family. The joint program is called Homes4WoundedHeroes, and gives wounded vets something a little bit more substantial than just a car or a vacation for their years of service.
The program also works with the family to transition to civilian life, providing both family and financial mentoring to vets and their families.
Henaogallego, a wounded warrior, joined the military in 2003 and served in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, for which he received the Combat Action Badge, Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars.
Sandy Ignaszewski, the National Finance Mentoring Coordinator at the Military Warriors Support Foundation, told WFOR-TV that the foundation started around 10 years ago, and provided hunting and fishing trips for combat wounded veterans.
"Our founder, General [Leroy] Sisco, realized that these combat wounded veterans need a lot more than just a weekend fishing trip. They need something more solid, foundation, and he felt that the roof over their heads was exactly ... would give them some sort of stability and allow them that opportunity."
According to the organization's site:
Military Warriors Support Foundation awards mortgage-free homes to combat wounded heroes injured while in service to our country. The homes are for families who have severe and/or unique circumstances due to their injuries received while serving our country. In addition to the home, the families will receive 3 years of family and financial mentoring.
KFOR reported that Wells Fargo has donated over 350 homes across the U.S. since 2012, with a total value of over $55 million.
The Military Warriors Support Foundation has awarded over 800 homes through the Homes4WoundedHeroes program since 2010.
"We're blessed to have this opportunity," Henaogallego said, "and a wish come true."
