Manchester, N.H.—This Veterans Day, Carpet One Floor & Home will celebrate another successful year of partnering with the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Smart Home Program. The national program provides mortgage-free, custom-designed smart homes to veterans with catastrophic injuries, allowing them to live more independently and enjoy their best lives within their respective communities.
To date, the foundation has built or is in the process of completing nearly 85 Smart Homes, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Carpet One Floor & Home has partnered with the foundation for the past five years. Cooperative members regularly support smart homeprojects in their respective communities by providing installations and materials, using flooring donated by Mohawk. Additionally, the cooperative stays involved by raising funds and awareness on a regular basis: a move that’s woven itself deeply within the company’s culture. Last summer, Carpet One Floor & Home’s collective efforts for the foundation passed the $1.1 million mark.
Theresa Fisher, senior vice president of store design and visual merchandising, said the noble cause continues to strengthen bonds amongst staff and members. “The way this cause has brought our cooperative together is astounding,” she added.
Earlier this fall, members and staff from Carpet One Floor & Home gathered in New York City to participate in the foundation’s largest event—the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk NYC. In addition to running, walking and volunteering at this enormous event, the company raised nearly $330,000 for the cause.
Army SFC Anthony Kenworthy, a Florida veteran who moved into his Land O’Lakes smart homein early October 2019, was overcome with emotion on move-in day. Kenworthy was injured by an IED while serving in Afghanistan in 2014 and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a quadriplegic. “I made it home, but one of my buddies didn’t,” he explained.
USMC Corporal Clark Cavalier, who moved into his Marydel, Md., smart home in early 2018, said his prior home made life quite challenging as it was carpeted—making it hard to navigate in his wheelchair. Cavalier lost both legs and severely injured his left hand and arm after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan in April 2011. “I can’t give [the foundation] enough thanks, praise…everything,” Cavalier said. “They’re great at bringing everyone together to make this happen.”
Carpet One Floor & Home is proud to partner with Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers’ Smart Home Program, helping veterans with catastrophic injuries return to their communities and live as independently as possible. To date, the foundation has spent millions towards Smart Home construction.