ST. LOUIS – Volunteers from the Home Depot Foundation and Rebuilding Together St. Louis joined forces Friday to help out local veterans with home upgrades ahead of Veterans Day.

More than 60 volunteers from both groups did some spruce-up work on five veterans’ homes in the St. Louis area. 

With a little elbow grease and some fresh paint, the group worked several hours to express their gratitude for Henry Bickley. Volunteers helped him with new fans and new motion sensor lights, while also painting his porches.

“All I can do is just thank you,” says Bickley, a United States Air Force veteran. “It’s a wonderful thing, helping seniors stay in their homes.”

Volunteers from both sides of the Mississippi River came prepared.

“We started outside and repainted his steps,” says Brittany Young, Team Depot Captain. “We’ve replaced two light fixtures on the exterior and new house numbers. We’ve replaced all the light bulbs to LED bulbs and replaced four ceiling fans, painted his entire deck and yard.”

“That was what we set out to do. [Find out] how we can help our local veterans,” says Blake Randall, Team Depot Co-Captain. “When we knew we had Henry as our signup, we just knew we had to go over the top.”

To top the day for Bickley, he also received an outdoor rocking chair and a new grill. 

“It’s wonderful man,” says Bickley. “This is the greatest Veterans Day present I ever had.”