Volunteers help out Army veterans with home improvement projects

Home Improvement

A Phoenix area veteran is getting some help with his home projects.

“Life-changing,” said Zakary Ferroni. “It’s life-changing.”

On Nov. 3, nearly 100 Home Depot employees helped Ferroni tackle a long list of home improvement projects. It’s part of the Home Depot Foundation’s annual ‘Operation Surprise.’

“We are out here giving back to veterans,” said Ryan Braddy, Field Manager for the Home Depot Foundation. “We are organizing the garage, putting in new shelving, repairing the fence, re-landscaping the entire house, painting.”

The volunteers helped out Ferroni a week before Veterans Day.

“You have all these members of the community coming out to help me, and it just is really nice to be able to wake up and see all these wonderful people here,” said Ferroni.

Ferroni was in the US Army from 2003 to 2012, and was deployed to Afghanistan. Nowadays, Ferroni is struggling with PTSD, and his husband, Joe Schultz, is the only one able to work.

“Being a one-income household, it’s hard for them to keep up,” said Braddy.

“Before we even bought this house, I wouldn’t of thought any of this would be happening. It’s insane. I love it,” said Schultz.

Aside from all the work being done, Ferroni and Schultz were also surprised with a new washer and dryer, as well as a mortgage payment for the month of December.