The Village of Hillside, Plote Construction Inc. and Plote Homes have teamed up to build a home, free of charge, for disabled Veteran Sergio Lopez and his family. Lopez, of Joliet, was injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On March 30, the Hillside Disabled Veterans Home Project held a groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction on Lopez’s new home.

Through the help of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Lopez was chosen to be the recipient of this project after serving two tours of duty in Iraq. In January of 2006, Lopez, 27, was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), commonly known as a roadside bomb, in Iraq.

The explosion resulted in the loss of both legs below his knees and changed his life forever. Lopez and his wife, Maria, have two young daughters and the rehabilitation Lopez has gone through and continues to endure, is extensive. Over a year of project planning efforts and fundraising put the project in position to move forward. With the help of local unions and labor organizations, contractors, community members, businesses, material suppliers and individuals who donated their time to the project, the construction of the new home for Lopez is becoming a reality.

Contributing to the project are ABC Supply Co. Inc., Admiral HVAC, Allied LED Solutions, Allied Waste, Amron Stair Works, Area Restroom, Art Rubel, ATS Utility Solutions, Biewer HVAC, Bountiful Lighting, Cement Finishers Local 502, Cerniglia Underground, Chicago Area Painters & Drywall Finishers JATC, Chicago Carpenters Union, Chicago Teamsters Union, Consolidated Garage Door, Countryside Industries, Cybor Fire Protection, Direct Design Ltd., First Fence, For the Fallen, GE Appliances, General Shale Brick, Haeger Engineering, Home Depot, IBEW Local 15, ICI Paint, Kohler, Laborers Local Union #25, LE Tech Inc., Lenny Szarek Inc., Liberty Fire Protection, Manning Concrete, Masons Apprentice Union, Midland Standard Engineering, Operation Support Our Troops, Oxford Engineering Ltd., Packaged Concrete Inc., Pella Windows, Plote Construction Inc., Prairie Materials, R. Carrozza Plumbing, Reinke Supply, Seesmart LED, Sprovieri’s Custom Counters, Stahl Cowen, State Testing, The Levy Company, Voss Lauritsen Tillrock, Waste Management, Weaver Construction, Waukegan Roofing, Winkler Tree Service, and Wolf Siding & Gutter.

Volunteering their time to the project are employees of Plote Companies, Helmets to Hardhats, the Village of Hillside Police Department, the Village of Hillside Fire Department and the members of the Village of Hillside staff.

For more information or to inquire about participation opportunities, visit http://hdvhp.weebly.com or please call John Flood or Adam Neisendorf at 708/202-4324 or 847/428-1000 ext. 228.

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