Joseph Treacy / Lake Cunningham FD
Greer and Lake Cunningham Fire Departments volunteered to help move furnishings into SSG Jason Livingston and his family's home Saturday.
Joseph Treacy / Lake Cunningham FD
Left to right: Miller Shire, a designer (SpaceScapes) from Asheville, N.C., SSG Jason Livingtonston and his wife, Brandy.
Joseph Treacy / Lake Cunningham FD
Mission accomplished. The volunteers pose for a photo with SSG Jason Livingston in the middle after the house was completely furnished within two hours.
Submitted
SSG Jason Livingston has a loving armful of Chamberlain, an extremely happy daughter.
They stood in their newly furnished living room at their home on North Rutherford Road. Surrounding them were two children, friends, neighbors and firemen from the Greer and Lake Cunningham Fire Departments.
Through Furnishing Hope, Inc., Jason, a 10-year Army combat veteran, who served tours of duty in Iraq two years and Afghanistan one year, where he was injured in both deployments, received new home furnishings.
Livingston received the Purple Heart among other award decorations for wounds sustained in combat. He was injured on Oct. 1, 2010 on his first deployment and suffered more injuries on his second deployment when a direct enemy mortar caused shrapnel to hit him at the base of the left side of his skull and neck, smashing his head into the side of a building.
“I wanted to serve and protect first my family and my country,” Livingston said of joining the Army. “To protect the freedoms that are taken for granted.”
Firefighters and neighbors started arriving at 9 a.m. and began the task of transforming the Livingston's house into a beautiful new home. Jason said he was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support.
"It means a lot," Livingston, a native of Illinois, said. "Being a part of the community, it's very welcoming to have this kind of support.”
Livingston, who lived in Germany with his family while he recovered from his combat injuries, said many of the family’s possessions were damaged or destroyed. Working with Furnishing Hope, he was able to receive the furniture his family needed.
"My wife found the program when we got our house through the Military Warrior Support Foundation," he said. "It was relatively easy. They just worked with us from there and it's been a huge blessing.
"We spent pretty much everything we had to buy stuff for our kids,” Livingston said.
“It means a fresh start for our family,” Brandy said. “Most of our items were ruined or broken in transportation to and from Germany and what was left, the water and years have just taken a toll on them”
Miller Shire, an interior designer from Asheville, N.C., helped place the Livingston's new furniture.
“We thought there were going to be five firefighters and there's more than a dozen,” Shire said. “This community cares and they really wanted to help pull this together. It's amazing."
“With Jason being hurt and moving back to the states and then being told that he was being med boarded, we haven’t had the chance or funds to be able to buy the items we need,” Brandy said. “I’m hoping this gift will help make our new house a home and let Jason start to feel comfortable and at ease there. I think it will help our children to transition as well.”
"The kids have a place to sit, we have a dining room table to eat at, so that's really nice,” Livingston said.
Furnishing Hope, Inc, is a privately funded organization based in Santa Ana, Calif., whose mission is to help furnish the homes of wounded military veterans in crisis.