Marine Sergeant Dylan Gray knows the definition of a hero. Ask him, and you’ll hear him cite the hundreds of volunteers who participated in the construction of his new home. Ask those volunteers, however, and each of them will recognize Sgt. Gray as theirs.
Sgt. Gray returned to his home in Nevada without legs after his deployment in Iraq, the result of an injury received when his Humvee drove over the pressure plate of an IED. Husband and father of three small children, he and his family are living in a two story home in the rural town of Wellington, nearly 2 hours south of Reno. Confined to the first floor of this home because of his injuries, Sgt. Gray had difficulty caring for his family and participating in the daily life we all take for granted.
The Builders Association of Northern Nevada (BANN), affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders, and an intermediary partner of the C-CORE (Construction Coaching Opportunities to Reach Employment)
program, saw that assisting Sgt. Gray and his family was right up its alley. C-CORE is an innovative mentoring and coaching program that partners mentors (coaches) and students aged 16-18 (members) for a year, encouraging them to explore industry careers, set life goals, and participate in community service projects that reinforce their connections to their local community and to others.
Partnering with Homes for Our Troops, a nationally recognized charitable organization that builds adapted homes for disabled veterans, BANN helped to secure land, contractors, subcontractors and materials to build “A Home for Sgt. Gray”. Embraced by the community and by the industry, hundreds of volunteer laborers and tradesman participated in a community “Build Brigade” weekend in mid-March that took the home from a slab to a completely framed, roofed and sheathed structure in just three days.
C-CORE members and coaches hauled building materials, cleaned up and recycled surplus building debris, served food as part of the “chow line”, and even built a dog house for the Gray family pooches. The participation of the C-CORE volunteers freed up valuable skilled labor that was needed to meet the ambitious 3-day building schedule.
C-CORE members represented a broad spectrum of volunteers, and hailed from a number of Northern Nevada schools and referral sources. Without the enthusiastic participation of C-CORE, a home for Sgt. Gray would still be a dream. Because of the involvement of the Reno C-CORE volunteers, the Gray family will be enjoying a home for a true Nevada hero by early summer.
