Local Rotary Helps Military Families With Adopt-a-Soldier Program

This past May, a storm with tornado-like winds blew through Fowlerville, damaging U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Wright's household appliances, garage doors, porch, walkway and patio furniture.

Sgt. Wright was deployed to Afghanistan, leaving his wife Katie Wright to deal with repairs in addition to caring for their two children.

Katie Wright submitted her information to the Grand Ledge Family Readiness Center, which helps the families of deployed soldiers. They in turn contacted her explaining that some local organizations were willing to help.

That's where Bryan Bradford, a U.S. Army disabled veteran and member of the Livingston Sunrise Rotary came in. For the past year, the rotary has helped about a dozen families with its Adopt-a-Soldier program. Bradford, also a Brighton business owner, said help could be anything from helping out at Christmas to making repairs at the Wright home.

The Livingston Sunrise Rotary, which meets Friday mornings in Brighton, partnered with the Hartland Rotary, Livingston Concrete, Leppek Nursery, Ameri-Construction and Nefty Doors to re-pour the concrete porch and walkway, install new drains to keep water from running into the basement and help with landscaping and yard work in August.

On Tuesday, two new garage doors - the finishing touch to the repairs - were installed by Nefty Doors.

Katie Wright said the Rotary's efforts were a big help.

"A lot gets over-looked for what the family sacrifices," she said. "Like having the extra parent at home or someone climb on the ladder and assemble a garage door without having to pay someone else to come out and look at it. You go from dual parent mode to single parent mode and having the extra help is excellent."

For Bradford, helping soldiers and their families is important.

"I took an oath to leave no man behind and it's a brotherhood that once in, always in," Bradford said. "I take that very seriously. I know all too well the sacrifices that they make and their families shouldn't have to make the same sacrifices. I feel a debt of gratitude for the ones who continue to carry the torch, especially in the current climate."

According to Bradford, many soldiers work regular jobs and make decent income that all goes away when they are deployed.

"The family gets military pay, which is not a great wage," he said. "They (soldiers) don't do it for the money and they don't do it for the glory -- they do it because they are called to."

Norman Finch, owner of Nefty Doors and a member of the American Legion (Pinckney) Post 419 Honor Guard, said he added extra support to the doors so something like this wouldn't happen again.

"We do what we can for the veterans," Finch said. "When I say we -- I and a lot of other people didn't have what these soldiers have today and we just try to help support them. It's awful tough getting called out of home saying, 'we want you, get your butt on a bus.' And that's basically what happened."

"They went through a crisis and they needed help and that's what we're all about," Finch added.

The Rotary is also working to help another military family in Howell -- U.S. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Klock's wife was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Bradford said the family has accumulated thousands of dollars in co-pays that the hospital is forcing them to pay or it will not continue treatments.

The Rotary is asking for donations of prepaid Kroger, Visa or Master Card cards to help the family. The cards can be mailed to Bradford's Brighton office, in care of "Adopt a Soldier" at 213 W. Main Street, Suite 1 Brighton, MI 48116.

For more information on the Livingston Sunrise Rotary, visit them online.