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ICC News

Veterans Groups, Code Council Chapter Members, Host Benefit Event for Wounded Solider

[Source: http://www.leavenworthtimes.com | June 24, 2008]

By all accounts, Luana Schinder and her son, Scott Stephenson, have been through a series of overwhelmingly rough experiences in the past two years. However, along with the seemingly insurmountable day-to-day challenges, another thing they have experienced together is the kindness—and generosity—of strangers.

“People continue to amaze me,” Schinder said.

Schinder described the community support she and her son have received since he was injured in Iraq in December 2006 as “inspiring” and as something that gives her hope. “When people do things like this,” she said, “it brings me so much hope for Scott’s future and his life. It gives me a strong sense of hope it will make his life a little easier.”

Luana Schinder assists her son, U.S. Sgt. Scott Stephenson. Schinder is Stephenson’s primary caretaker. Stephenson was wounded just four weeks into his tour in Iraq. An attack on his vehicle left him with burns over 80 percent of his body, and one of his legs was amputated below the knee. Stephenson subsequently had two strokes, leaving him with limited use of his left arm.

Along with local veterans group, the Patriot Guard Riders, the Heart of America chapter of the International Code Council have teamed up with several other like-minded groups and individuals to host a fundraiser for Stephenson in July. The modifications the fundraiser’s many organizers and contributors are hoping to make focus on turning the ground floor of Schinder’s Atchison, Kansas, home into an apartment for Stephenson, adding a roll-in shower and installing a stair lift between the floors.

“What’s great is the idea he will have a sense of independence because of this space,” Schinder said. Schinder is currently in Texas with Stephenson, who travels back and forth between Kansas and Texas every 90 days or so to undergo treatment and further surgeries.

The group supporting the fundraiser effort includes Mike Davis, a Miami County building inspector who has committed to organizing the labor aspect of the project. Davis said he had been looking for a way to give back to his community and to local soldiers after hearing about a “Project Hero” initiative set forward by the International Code Council, of which he was a Kansas chapter representative. He said he had contacted the VFW and other groups to try and help soldiers “stay in their homes,” but had not been able to get such a project off the ground.

“It was something I always kept in the back of my mind, but I always hit some kind of roadblock,” he said.

When Davis saw an article about Stephenson and the modifications his home needed in the Kansas City Star, he jumped at the opportunity to help. “This is right up our alley,” he said, referring to the Heart of America chapter of the International Code Council. “Because we’re the code enforcers, we understand the building code and what a building needs to have to be handicap-accessible.”

Davis said his connections in the construction industry also helped him organize the donation of labor and he was able to coordinate with Johnson County inspectors to provide up to eight hours of continuing education credit for inspectors needing to renew their licenses. Davis said he hoped the project would come together in the style of the show “Extreme Home Makeover.”

Schinder said the fundraiser and the efforts of all involved touched and inspired her. “Scott brings hope not just to my family, but to other people,” she said. “He doesn’t dwell on the fact that he has all these burns and he doesn’t dwell on the fact that he can’t walk and he can’t use his left arm, so he’ll never be able to play football again. He’s a strong kid. He tries really hard.”

For those unable to attend the fundraising program, donations may be sent to Drop Tank Willie, dba Kansas Help on the Homefront, UMB Bank Topeka East, 2100 SE 29th St., Topeka, KS 66605.

[Original Release: http://www.leavenworthtimes.com/articles/2008/06/24/news/news01.txt]