RIBA charity to build home for wounded Marine

A wounded veteran of the war in Afghanistan will soon have a new home in Burrillville, thanks to the Rhode Island Builders Association's Builders Helping Heroes (BHH) charity and its partner, Homes for Our Troops, based in Taunton, Mass. Marine Cpl. Kevin Dubois was on his second deployment when he lost both legs at the hip after contacting an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmand Province, which borders Pakistan, on July 31, 2011. Most recently, the Rhode Island native has been in rehabilitation in San Diego, Calif. He and his wife, Kayla, plan to return to Rhode Island before the end of this year. The project to build a 2,650 s/f, specially adapted house for the Dubois couple should provide not only an appropriate and comfortable home for them, but also a great place to start their family. "Having a specially adapted home will benefit me greatly because it will help improve my daily living challenges," Cpl. Dubois was quoted as saying. "It will improve my life overall, making me more independent, and it will give me a better quality of life. Thank you for supporting me!" Homes for Our Troops, based in Taunton, Mass., is acquiring the five-acre lot on Sherman Farm Rd., Burrillville, and BHH will be the general contractor of record, reported RIBA member David Caldwell Jr. of Caldwell and Johnson Inc., a member of the BHH board of directors. "We plan to get this project off the ground by late spring, and we are looking for donations of time, materials and money," said Caldwell, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and an Iraq War veteran. Contributions are deductible Project costs are expected to be about $400,000, according to Caldwell. He emphasized that BHH is a fully IRS approved, non-profit subsidiary of RIBA and that all donations are tax deductible. BHH also is a registered Rhode Island residential contractor (#19). "The most immediate need is for an office trailer. I know it's not usual to have one at a residential jobsite, but it will allow us to more easily control jobsite logistics and to have meetings," said Caldwell. RIBA members already donating Among those donating to the Dubois project so far is RIBA member Dennis DiPrete of DiPrete Engineering Associates, contributing site plan and septic system design services. Members Jonathan Dember and Robert Sherwood of Conservation Services Group have agreed to donate the consultation on "green" building so that the house conforms with Energy Star requirements and the National Association of Home Builders Green Building Standard. BuilderTREND is donating project management software, and more national vendors are expected to sign on as well, according to Caldwell. "Along with the tax deduction, anyone donating to the project will be entitled to use the 'Proud sponsor, Builders Helping Heroes' logo, which is coming soon," he said. RIBA immediate past president Robert Baldwin, president of BHH, is handling scheduling and arrangements for subcontractors from land clearing through site work and the foundation. Caldwell is the project manager. Members can follow the progress of the project through monthly updates in The Rhode Island Builder Report and online at www.buildershelpingheroes.org. To find out more about donating time, material or money, please visit www.buildershelpingheroes.org. BHH was founded in 2006 and has since helped roughly a dozen Rhode Island soldiers and their families, according to Baldwin Paul Eno is the owner and editor-in-chief of New River Press, Woonsocket and is the editor of the monthly RIBA newsletter, The Rhode Island Builder Report.