Donors open vacation homes to veterans

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Donors open vacation homes to veterans
BY COURTNEY ALLISON

Special to Newsday

May 4, 2008

Long Island native Peggy Carr has fond memories of vacationing in the Adirondacks as a child. Her family would drive 10 hours from their West Hempstead home for their two-week mountain vacation. She still remembers how bothered she was when the house sat vacant.

"It was just a great house not being used," she said.

This notion, coupled with a desire to help wounded veterans, prompted Carr to found Vacations for Veterans, a nonprofit organization that matches vacation homeowners across the world who wish to donate a week of time at their home to a recently wounded veteran.

Carr, a graduate of West Hempstead High School, started the Web site vacationsforveter ans.org in October with her husband, Chris. The two Gulf War-era veterans (Chris led an infantry platoon in Operation Desert Storm, and Peggy served as a legal officer at Camp Pendleton in California from 1990 to 1993) knew firsthand the struggles of having a loved one overseas.

"So many people want to support the troops but don't know how. This gives them the opportunity to do so," she said.

Carr, who now lives in Washington, D.C., runs Exclusive Exchanges, a luxury home exchange business. She noticed many of the vacation homes on the company Web site had vacant weeks and wondered if the owners might donate an unbooked week to a wounded veteran. After informally calling customers to see if they would support the idea, she was met with a resounding "yes."



A break from bills

The nonprofit organization provides much-needed vacations to veterans whose medical bills and other expenses have wiped them out financially.

The Carrs recently coordinated a trip to Breckenridge, Colo., for Army Sgt. Dennis Cline and his family. Cline lost his hand in Afghanistan on Sept. 11, 2006, when his vehicle came under small-arms fire. In the hospital half of his forearm had to be amputated. After a year as an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he and his family moved to Fort Carson, just south of Colorado Springs.

"It went from one thing to the next that year," recalls Cline's wife, Brooke. Two of their children required surgeries, and Dennis was rehospitalized because of an infection.

Dennis, Brooke and their three children - Kaylee, 6, Keirsten, 4, and Dennis, 3 - drove to Breckenridge for Presidents Day weekend, courtesy of Vacations for Veterans. They chose Breckenridge because it was close to home and they thought skiing was a sport Dennis' injury wouldn't interfere with too much.

"Skiing was something I enjoyed before my injury, so soon after I was released I decided to try it again," Cline said. He described it as challenging, but the ski instructor, an arm amputee from birth, taught him a few tricks. "It all came back to me," he said.

When the family arrived, they found the house fully furnished, with a kitchenette. All they had to do was buy a few groceries and relax. Unfortunately, the children got the flu, but Cline was able to ski, and Brooke took in a day at the spa.

"It is just a nice thing to get away for awhile," said Cline, describing the trip as a welcome change from the stress the family had undergone.

Tracey Keil and Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Keil also had a tumultuous year - they were married just six weeks when a sniper shot Matthew on patrol in Iraq, leaving the 26-year-old paralyzed from the neck down. Since the soldier's return home to Denver in May, his family has spent most of their time in the hospital. But they hope to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii.

"We are just so excited at the thought of going on a family vacation and having time together in a nice place to relax, instead of a hospital," said Tracey Keil, 30.

Though the rental is free, veterans and their families are still responsible for their travel costs. The Carrs raise money - and take donations of frequent-flier miles and plane tickets - to help defray expenses. They raised enough money to pay for the Clines' lift tickets and found a local store to donate rental ski equipment.

Since the launch of the Web site, the 501c3 public charity has grown rapidly, now offering 175 homes ranging from a Grecian villa to a home in Cabo San Lucas. Those who donate a home are eligible for a free membership to Carr's Exclusive Exchanges site.



All volunteers

The Carrs run the veterans site on a volunteer basis, with the help of Peggy's mother, Marie Doyle, a retired teacher still living in West Hempstead who fields questions from vacation homeowners who want to donate time. Chris Carr handles veteran outreach at nearby Walter Reed. Peggy Carr coordinates the trips and acts as a liaison between veterans and homeowners.

The Cline family plans to take advantage of Vacations for Veterans again and will fly to Disney World next month, staying at a condominium they found through the site.

"We had been planning a trip to Disney before Dennis got injured, so it will be great to finally get the kids there," Brooke said.

"It's a donation of memories," said Peggy Carr.

To donate a vacation

Long Islanders interested in donating a home can visit vacationsfor

veterans.org. To contact the Carrs, send an e-mail to info@vacationsfor veterans.org, or call 800-831-8803.

Copyright Ž© 2008, Newsday Inc.



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