Virginia U.S. Army veteran receives new roof

By Emma Peterson. 

The Roof Deployment Program supports veterans like Ronald Pendleton in need. 

Ronald Pendleton lives in his family’s home in Millwood, Virginia, which is more than 100 years old. Originally built with a tin roof, the home has once been redone with shingles. However, since then, it hasn’t had a reroof and needed attention. He explained to The Winchester Star that it only has received a patch here, a patch there” He grew up in that home and it is the home he returned to a few years ago to care for his mother, Mary. While it wasn’t leaking quite yet, he said. “Some of the shingles were beginning to come off. It was getting bad.” 

But for Ronald, there were other priorities to attend to and the roof was something that just kept being put on the back burner. He recently had surgery to remove a low-grade cancerous mass in his chest, near his heart. He was incredibly thankful to avoid chemotherapy and is recovering well, but the surgery didn’t leave him a lot of space to think about the roof and the financial burden that comes with it. A reroof can be anywhere between $5,000 and $16,000, which is a huge cost in light of his recent health concerns.. 

Thankfully, he doesn’t need to worry anymore, because of the charitable act  he describes as a “godsend.” In November, a partnership between Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity and A&M Roofing facilitated a free reroof for his home. This collaboration also included the aid of Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, which helps veterans repair and redo their roofs to keep them safe by providing materials for projects like this. This program is perfect for folks like Ronald, who served in the Army from 1966 to 1968.  

Angel Villagomez from A&M Roofing explained that Ronald’s roof required special materials for flat roofs. He went on to express how proud the company was to participate in the charitable program, saying, “We’re just happy to do this.” They hope Ronald is far from the first or last person to be aided by the program. Since it began in 2016, more than 500 veterans have received new roofs through the Roof Deployment Program.  

Photo source: The Winchester Star