Homes for Our Troops is an organization devoted to providing severely injured veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with free homes designed to accommodate their disabilities. The Sierra Club (as if you didn't know) is an organization devoted to protecting the environment while promoting the responsible use of the earth. Like chocolate and peanut butter, these two are pairing up in a delicious way for the good of everyone.
The result is a greening of these veteran's homes and the expected perks of using green materials and systems that will benefit the homes, the inhabitants and the earth will expand to include educating a wide audience on ways to save energy in the home and creating more jobs in the green building industry.
Thousands of people and companies are volunteering to build these homes for the women and men of the military. To date, there are about 28 completed homes, nearly 2 dozen in progress and plans to complete 100 more homes over the next 3 years, during which time Homes for Our Troops will receive up to $1,000,000 in grants from the Sierra Club Foundation.
Some of the "green" aspects of the grant include geothermal heating systems and photovoltaic solar panels, participation in the Energy Star and LEED Programs recently established by the US Green Building Council, and industry and public outreach regarding the benefits and significance of green building.
Talk about a win-win situation.
