Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Brighton-based, non-profit Veterans Connected and the Home Depot Foundation teamed up Thursday to give back at the home of an Army veteran in White Lake.

After returning from his service in the Army, Gerald Ponkey now lives with his young family in White Lake. He thought he found the perfect home to raise his growing family, but in 2020 a tornado struck his house - causing significant damage that would take years to repair. He hired contractors to help with reconstruction, but, after making a few updates, they abandoned the project, leaving the family with an unfinished home -including a gutted bathroom that could be dangerous for their two young children.

With a third child on the way, Ponkey was in need of assistance to restore the home he lost four years ago and create an environment that is safe, welcoming, and more accessible.

The Home Depot Foundation’s national Operation Surprise campaign, Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, and Veterans Connected stepped in and came together Thursday to make some crucial home repairs.

Volunteers from Veterans Connected and Team Depot made Ponkey’s home safer and more accessible by completing a gutted bathroom that was left unfinished by previous contractors, as well as additional repairs and organization projects throughout the home to help the family prepare for the arrival of their third child. Work included completing a bathroom renovation, adding plumbing, installing bathroom fixtures, repairing and painting drywall in bathroom and throughout the home, and assisting with general cleaning and organization projects.

At the end of the project, volunteers surprised Ponkey with a new over-the-range microwave, barbecue grill, and grilling tools.

In honor of Veterans Day, the service project is one of hundreds happening nationwide this month as part of The Home Depot Foundation’s Operation Surprise campaign – “which provides life-changing moments of surprise through service to our nation’s veterans”. This November, Team Depot, alongside nonprofit partners, will complete hundreds of service projects across the country to help make veterans’ homes safer and more accessible, “ensuring these projects create lasting impact in the lives of those who served”.

Veterans Connected Vice Chair Mike Mickus and Board Member Brandyn Mickus said painting will be done this weekend and the project will be completed by Thanksgiving – “truly giving the family something to be thankful for”.

Videos of the project can be viewed on the Veteran's Connected Facebook page, which can be accessed through the top provided link.