Tee It Up for the Troops golf tournament helps veterans fix their homes

(KMSP) - Some veterans across the Twin Cities are going to get a helping hand in fixing up their homes thanks to a big event later this week.

The Tee It Up for the Troops Golf Tournament is coming up on Aug. 10 in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and this year some of the money raised is going to help the group Hearts & Hammers.  

“We are an organization that helps low income seniors, disabled and veterans stay independent in their homes by going out and doing exterior rehabs on it,” explained Randi Prebil with Hearts & Hammers.  ​Prebil said they go through about 400 gallons of paint every year.

The group needs so much because they’ve got a lot of work to do. On Sept. 22, about 500 volunteers with Hearts & Hammers will spread out all across the Twin Cities to rehab some homes. One of the homes belongs to Howard Miller, a retired Navy veteran in south Minneapolis.

For Miller, the volunteers arriving on his doorstep will feel like the fleet coming home.

“It’s just unbelievable for somebody taking the time,” Miller said.

In this case, it’s payback for time well-served.

“Just knowing how much they’ve given us and what they’ve served for us and what we can do, even if it’s something so small as painting the exterior of their home that allows them to feel more prideful or to know that we care about them…we want to give back to them,” Prebil said.  

Miller spent 25 years in the Navy and was part of the squadron parked in the Atlantic Ocean to pick up John Glenn from his historic launch into space.

There are still open slots in the Tee It Up for Troops tournament. For more information, click here: https://www.teeitupforthetroops.org/event/tee-it-up-for-the-troops-bunker-hills/