An Arkansas veteran has received a new home, thanks to Bank of America and the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP).
After 30 years of service in the U.S. Army, Sergeant Marshall Scott retired from his post in 2016. Scott had served 10 years in active duty and 20 years in the Army Reserves and was looking forward to spending time with his wife and family.
Tragedy struck in 2017 when Scott experienced two strokes; the second rendered him unable to speak and confined to his bed. This event altered Scott’s retirement plans, as well as his wife Erica’s. Now, Erica was Scott’s full-time caregiver.
Fast forward to Nov. 10, 2020, and the Scott have received the keys to a newly renovated, mortgage-free house. With this house, Scott will be able to maneuver more easily in his electric wheelchair, and the family will have the additional funds to hire home assistant aides for him.
The home donation was made possible by Bank of America and VAREP, a nonprofit that aims to increase homeownership and economic opportunity for active military members and veterans.
“It’s truly fitting to partner with VAREP to give Sgt. Marshall the new home in time for Veteran’s Day,” Diane Wagner, senior vice president of media relations for Bank of America, told Arkansas Money & Politics.
According to Bank of America officials, the company has donated more than 2,300 homes to military veteran support charities and other nonprofits across the United States.
Since 1920, Bank of America has worked to provide services and opportunities for American military veterans. This initiative started at the Fort Sam Houston base in Texas one hundred years ago and continues to this day. The bank recently achieved its goal of hiring 10,000 veterans, National Guard members and reservists, in order to alleviate the difficulties many veterans face upon leaving military service.
This is not the only way Bank of America has aided veterans. The bank launched a $20 million Veteran Entrepreneur Lending program in 2018, with the goal of providing military veteran business owners with the capital to grow their ventures.
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