- May 6, 2024
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Vettes for Vets founder Jason Dores and Florida Director Ron Boisvert present a check to Christopher Preveziotis. His wife Xenia and their son Dimitris and Palm Coast Council member Cathy Heighter look on. Photo by Sierra Williams
Disabled American Veteran's member Larry Rekart leads veteran Christopher Preveziotis outside to receive his Vettes for Vets' offer of free home improvements. Photo by Sierra Williams
Vettes for Vets founder Jason Dores, Vettes' Florida Director Ron Boisvert present a check for "free home improvements" to veteran Christopher Preveziotis. Photo by Sierra Williams
Vettes for Vets members Ron Boisvert, the Florida director, and his wife, Janice Boisvert, and Charlotte and Jason Dores, the founders of Vettes for Vets. Photo by Sierra Williams
From left to right: Vettes for Vets founder Jason Dores, Vettes' Florida Director Ron Boisvert, Xenia and Christopher Preveziotis with their son Dimitris, Palm Coast Council member Cathy Heighter and Disabled American Veteran's member Larry Rekart. Photo by Sierra Williams
Vettes for Vets members and local veteran organization members met at the Hobby Lobby on Palm Coast Parkway before heading over to Christopher Preveziotis' home. Photo by Sierra Williams
A U.S. Air Force veteran and Palm Coast resident is the surprise recipient of a home improvement package from a national nonprofit.
Vettes for Vets surprised local veteran Christopher Preveziotis at his home on Oct. 27 with a giant check labeled “free home restoration.” Vettes for Vets connects local contractors willing to donate their time with veterans who need assistance improving their homes.
Preveziotis retired from the Air Force in 2017 as an E6, or technical sergeant, specializing in healthcare administration. He initially enlisted in 1990 but left the service in 1994. In the summer of 2001, he returned to the Air Force and remained enlisted for the next 16 years.
Preveziotis, a disabled veteran who is unable to work, said Vettes for Vets offering to complete needed upgrades at his home was a complete surprise. He’s very thankful, he said.
“I had a lot of different feelings all at the same time,” Preveziotis said. “Financially, it’s going to help me out a lot but also spiritually … it has given me a better outlook on life.”
Vettes for Vets was established in 2021 in Charleston, South Carolina by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jason Dores, who owns a roofing company. The organization helps one veteran per year with home improvements in each state in which the nonprofit is active.
Dores and several other Vettes for Vets members drove down from South Carolina to meet with Preveziotis. He said the nonprofit began as a helping-hand volunteer group to help a South Carolina veteran get a new roof. It has since expanded to include the Washington D.C. area, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
“We’re going to continue growing,” he said. “It started off as just a roof, and now it has moved to bathroom remodels, appliances, bill assistance, anything that can help that veteran out.”
Dores said Vettes for Vets will open in three additional states in 2024 — Michigan, Ohio and Texas — and in 2025 add Pennsylvania and Kentucky to its locations.
“The goal is in 20 years to knock off all 50 states,” he said.
This is Vettes for Vets’ first year in Florida. Ron Boisvert, the organization’s Florida director and a Palm Coast resident, said Vettes for Vets raises money and connects to people who want to help out through car shows and local Corvette groups.
“So people with a common interest come and ask, ‘Oh, what’s this about,’” he said “We do the big picture thing. We pick a veteran and we do a home improvement to try to get them back up the right step.”
Boisvert said he talks to local veteran service organizations to get recommendations for local veterans who are in need. In Flagler County, he went to the county’s Veterans Services Office, the Florida Veterans of Foreign Wars office, and local branches of veteran groups like the American Legion for recommendations.
Once a veteran is chosen, he said, the hard part is trying to arrange things without the individual finding out until the day of the reveal.
“It’s like having a surprise party for your spouse,” he said. “It’s difficult.”
Boisvert said Lowe’s has offered to supply the materials for the improvement projects, and he’s received verbal confirmations from a roofer, a general contractor and a landscaper. He said the work on Preveziotis’ home won’t begin until after the holidays.
Preveziotis said Vettes for Vets will send someone to look at his home to see what work needs to be done, but he knows his home sustained some damage in the recent storms. Preveziotis said he doesn’t easily trust people, but having this happen out of the blue has made him feel like a better person.
“It kind of heals me a bit,” he said. “It really opened up something good inside me.”
