89-year-old blind man couldn't paint his home. Then Florida firefighters stepped in.
A World War II veteran in Tampa, Fla. got a helping hand from local firefighters who turned up to give his home a fresh coat of paint.
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Hillsborough County Fire Rescue of Florida decided to join in and help out their community when they set out to paint Velez and his wife's entire home on Saturday, working together with Paint Your Heart Out Tampa. Velez, who is blind, personally came out to thank the firefighters and proceeded to melt their "hearts with their gratitude," according to their Facebook post.
“It makes me glad, I’m very, very happy for that,” Velez said.
"To assist the community, to serve the community, and that’s what we’re doing today," volunteer Ken Forward told WTVT, adding that it's only natural for firefighters to give back.
"He told me he painted his home 17 years ago by himself," Forward told the outlet. "But now with his impairment, he can’t do it, so we’re here to help him."
On top of making Velez's home look brand-new with a fresh coat of paint, the firefighters also installed new fire detectors.
"It is important that we serve the community beyond emergency situations," Hillsborough County Fire Rescue shared.
According to Paint Your Heart Out Tampa's website, they have seen 75,000 volunteers paint 3,000 houses. Their mission is "to enrich lives and renew our community through annual volunteer efforts to paint and beautify our senior, veteran or disabled neighbors' homes ... one paint brush at a time."
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