By Staff
Tracy B. Cieniewicz, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle resident Jason Hughes of the 101st 2nd 502 Infantry regarded The Home Depot as his favorite retail store before his deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom in March.
Now, it's his entire family's favorite shopping place.
Thanks to Jason's wife, Tanya, the Hughes' home has received many needed repairs through Project Homefront, a partnership between The Home Depot and Rebuilding Together.
The national program helps military families like the Hughes make necessary home improvements while a family member is deployed.
Tanya applied for Project Homefront after learning about it on the ABC affiliate WAAY 31's evening news a few weeks ago.
She has watched WAAY news exclusively since an ABC news correspondent in Bagdad loaned Jason his personal phone to call Tanya and their four children.
"He's called from Iraqi satellite phones a few times since then," Tanya said. "Their day is our night, so he usually calls around 4:30 a.m. The kids and I don't mind at all though. We're just glad to hear from him."
According to Tanya, a deck repair Jason had started before his deployment was just one of many repairs and improvements their home needed.
"It's different when your husband is gone," Tanya said. "Even if you can afford the materials, you might not be able to afford the labor costs. And many people like me just don't know how to do it themselves."
The Home Depot's "Team Depot" and Rebuilding Together visited the Hughes' home June 4 to make the following repairs: finish deck repairs, replace damaged carpet with linoleum flooring, finish enclosing and paint a new room, replace broken storm windows, replace damaged backdoor, replace exterior light bulbs, and replace damaged washer and dryer.
"I'm going to take pictures of all of the repairs and send them to Jason," Tanya said. "He always asks for Home Depot gift cards for his birthday and holidays because he thinks it's the greatest store ever. I think he's right."
For more information on Project Homefront, call Rebuilding Together of Morgan County at 353-4407.