Partnership with Team Depot and Habitat for Humanity
With a $20,000 Celebration of Service Grant from The Home Depot Foundation, ServiceSource Florida partnered with volunteers from Team Depot and Habitat for Humanity of Key West & Lower Florida Keys to renovate American Legion William Weech Post 168 and historic Walter R. Mickens VFW Post 6021 in Bahama Village, Key West.
The Legion Post was built in 1951 by veterans and employees from the Key West Navy Yard to commemorate African Americans killed in WWI and WWII, according to Post 168 archives. It served more than 10,000 African American military personnel deployed in the Florida Keys from 1950 to 1970.
Once a treasured community resource the 67-year-old, southernmost American Legion/VFW Post has fallen into disrepair and is now dependent on grant dollars and pro bono labor to restore its luster and functionality, one section at time.
Team Depot and Habitat for Humanity volunteers worked to unload trucks, stage building materials and equipment, prep floors and ceilings, salvage prized Dade County pine boards, and paint hand railings to improve the Legion’s handicapped access, security, and safety.
“What a great opportunity to show our support for the Key West community and veterans who sacrificed so much for our freedom,” said Home Depot store manager Bryan Mohammed. “We’re proud and honored to contribute to its resurgence.”
This brings the number of veterans’ homes and facilities ServiceSource has renovated in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation to 60. It’s the first restoration of an American Legion/VFW.
