“The blessings are just never ending:” Non-profit provides local veteran woman with brand-new roof
DAGSBORO, Del.- “Cause you know she would never ask for help. Like she said, she still really doesn’t believe she deserves it. She rather it be given to someone else,” Daughter Tammy Orta said.
You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give.
For SFC Deborah Revel of Dagsboro, she gave 22 years of service to the U.S. Army.
As a thank you, she’s received a brand-new roof for a place she’s called home for over 40 years part of Valor Homes ‘Operation Raise the Roof’ program. “They did find a leak which I didn’t know about in the corner. Thankfully it didn’t get into the house, and it was just in the corner. Instead of just covering it, they fixed it,” Revel said.
“The blessings are just never ending.”
Thursday city officials, family, and the community gathered at Revel’s home for the big reveal.
Operation Raise the Roof Founder Brian Bauer tells us the non-profit receives hundreds of submissions for veterans in need, making the selection process quite the challenge.
Yet, he says stories like Ms. Debbie’s are one in a million. “Obviously with Debbie serving as a woman in the military. I think for us and obviously the experiences we’ve heard here today with her story and just over the past year for her, she just needed somebody to reach out and help her,” Bauer said.
Revel was nominated for the program by her daughter Tammy, who says her mom is the strong woman she knows. “I can remember many times my mom would come home and then get dressed to go to a second job while my sisters babysat me. She just tried her best to make ends meet and she did it,” Orta said.
Imagine losing a husband or even witnessing your child undergo numerous brain surgeries; that’s been Deborah Revel’s reality the last year.
Despite the challenges, we’re told the roof is a beacon of hope for a brighter future.
You may ask how she’s remained so strong: her answer. “Cause the military we’re taught you adapt and overcome. You don’t sit there and dwell about your hardships. You do what you can to fix it and go on with life. It doesn’t stop,” Revel said.
Not only did Revel get a new roof for her house, the non-profit also replaced the roof of her garage as well.
Operation Raise the Roof is seeking community partners to donate to the program, as their goal is to move from one installation a quarter to one a month to serve more veterans in need.
To find out more about the organization, click here
