PulteGroup’s West Florida Division opened the doors of two future veteran homes to the Riverview community on August 27, inviting employees, trade partners, family members and neighbors to leave permanent messages of love and gratitude inside the walls before they were finished.
The Notes of Love event is part of the division’s Built to Honor program, a collaboration with the nonprofit Building Homes for Heroes, which builds, modifies and gifts mortgage-free homes for veterans and Gold Star families. Army Spc. Ryan Heard and Army Sgt. Carson Shaw received the two gifted homes in Pulte Homes’ Spencer Glen community, located at 13716 Sunlight Meadow Dr. in Riverview.
Visitors were welcome to stop by at any time to write handwritten notes directly on the studs, slab and walls throughout both homes. The messages, typically expressions of encouragement, thanks and support for the veterans and their families, will remain sealed behind the finished walls and flooring for the life of the homes.
Heard arrived at the community at 2:30 p.m. and walked through his future home to see and read the notes left by the community. Following his walkthrough, his family was given time alone in the home to review the messages privately. Shaw arrived at 3:30 p.m. for the same experience in his home next door.
“There is something incredibly powerful about walking a veteran through a home filled with handwritten notes from people they’ve never met, all of them thanking him or her for their sacrifice,” said Tony Campano, vice president of procurement for PulteGroup’s West Florida Division. “I cry every single time I walk through with these veterans. Seeing Ryan and Carson read those messages, knowing they’ll be part of their home forever, is one of the most meaningful things we get to do all year.”
“Notes of Love is a beautiful reminder that when we build a home, we’re also building a community around one of our nation’s heroes,” said Andy Pujol, founder and CEO of Building Homes for Heroes. “We’re so proud to stand with our incredible partners at Pulte’s Built to Honor program and encourage the community to come together, welcome these deserving heroes and show them just how grateful we are for their service and sacrifice.”
“Seeing all these people coming together, giving their time and their donations to build this home for me and my family, it’s overwhelming and unbelievable,” said Heard. “Trust the process. Thank you to everybody, to the builders and volunteers who are going to build this home for us.”
“This is one of the most special days of our lives,” said Shaw. “To everybody who showed up and gave their time — thank you.”
The Notes of Love ceremony precedes the completion of the mortgage-free homes, which will be move-in ready for both families by Thanksgiving. The dual gift marks the seventh and eighth mortgage-free homes PulteGroup’s West Florida Division has built for veterans in the Tampa Bay area through Built to Honor, and the first time the division has honored two recipients at once.
Across the country, PulteGroup has donated over 100 Built to Honor mortgage-free homes to wounded veterans since founding the program in 2013.
For more information, visit www.pulte.com/homes/florida/tampa/riverview/spencer-glen-211225.
For over a decade, PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program has recognized and thanked returning military personnel who have been injured during their term of service by providing mortgage-free homes to veterans and their families. Launched in 2013, the program has built and donated over 100 homes, gifting more than $40 million in value, across the country. Built to Honor works in partnership with nonprofit organizations to identify veteran candidates.
For more information about Built to Honor, go to https://builttohonor.org/. Follow Built to Honor on X @BuiltToHonor and www.facebook.com/people/built-to-honor/61574264735162/.
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