$50,000 for Army Corporal Chris Levi

Building Homes for Heroes presents
Long Island hero with check

Army Corporal Chris Levi greets friends and family at fundraiser in his honor	Levi arrives at event with sister Kim

Building Homes for Heroes presented Army Corporal Christopher Levi with a check for $50,000 at a fundraiser held in the outdoor Biergarten at the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant in Franklin Square, Long Island. The event was held to raise funds to support the costs associated with renovating Levi's home - an estimated $100,000 project - so that the home is handicap accessible upon his return. Including the pledge made by Building Homes for Heroes, the event, which was attended by more than 300 people, raised approximately $80,000.

Renovations of the home are set to begin in August of 2008. Levi, who is currently at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is expected to continue to undergo medical treatment and physical therapy until September 2009.

On March 17, 2008, Levi, a Holbrook, Long Island resident, was severely injured when the armored Humvee he was traveling in was hit by an improvised exploding device in Iraq. Levi was in the middle vehicle of a five-vehicle convoy. He suffered critical injuries, including the loss of both of his legs. Levi also sustained severe damage to his right arm. Levi's unit, a U.S. Army intelligence group, was returning an Iraqi suspect it had picked up for questioning several days earlier, to his home.

The blast cut through both of Levi's legs at mid-thigh, hurling his limbs to the other side of the vehicle.  The blast also tore away part of his right palm, taking most of the fifth metacarpal bone with it.  Within minutes, Levi was evacuated to a nearby military base.  Within hours, he was placed aboard a plane bound for emergency surgery at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.  From there, Levi was shipped to Walter Reed.

| Levi Home Ground Breaking - Click here |
Levi Groundbreaking on Long Island	Levi Groundbreaking on Long Island
On Saturday August 23, 2008, approximately 100 volunteers, many from the fire department of Holbrook, Long Island, participated in a groundbreaking ceremony and then put on their gloves and helmets, took out their hammers and crowbars, and proceeded to gut the home of injured Army Corporal Christopher Levi.  This event marked . . . [click here to read more]