Building Homes for Heroes welcomed Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Matthew Mildorf to a donated home in Egg Harbor Township after volunteers from Chase and Lowe’s helped prepare the property for his family.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Marine wounded during combat in Iraq began a new chapter in South Jersey this week as Building Homes for Heroes, its corporate partners and a team of volunteers prepared a donated home for Staff Sgt. Matthew Mildorf and his family.
The Sept. 17 homecoming in Egg Harbor Township was the latest project undertaken by Building Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and other assistance to wounded veterans, first responders and their families.
Mildorf served 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and completed three overseas deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. During a 2006 deployment in Iraq, he was wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, suffering a traumatic brain injury and multiple shrapnel wounds.
He later received the Purple Heart.
“Yesterday reminded us what it means to come together for one of our nation’s heroes,” Building Homes for Heroes said as volunteers finished preparing the property for Mildorf’s arrival.
Building Homes for Heroes Turns a House Into a Home
The organization’s work extends beyond simply transferring a property to a veteran.
Building Homes for Heroes works with veterans and their families through housing programs, emergency financial assistance and other support designed to provide greater long-term stability after military service. The nonprofit said it has assisted hundreds of veterans and their families since its inception in 2006.
The organization has also been expanding the number of homes it builds, modifies and gifts to veterans. In describing its broader mission, Building Homes for Heroes has said its programs are intended to help veterans and first responders rebuild their lives while addressing housing, financial and family needs.
For Mildorf, that mission came together in New Jersey, where crews and volunteers spent the hours before the homecoming landscaping, decorating and preparing rooms inside the house.
Chase Donated the Home and Sent Volunteers to Help
Chase donated Mildorf’s Egg Harbor Township home as part of its ongoing partnership with Building Homes for Heroes.
The company’s involvement did not end with the property donation. Chase employees volunteered inside the residence ahead of Mildorf’s arrival, preparing rooms and helping ready the house for the family.
“Chase also donated this home, continuing a partnership that has made a life-changing impact for veterans across the country,” Building Homes for Heroes said.
The organization said the hands-on work was an important part of the project.
“What means even more is seeing their team give their time and energy, too,” the group said.
The project brought together a national nonprofit, corporate partners and local volunteers around a highly personal form of community support: giving a wounded veteran and his children a permanent place to call home.
Lowe’s Volunteers Transform the Backyard
Outside, volunteers from Lowe’s Home Improvement concentrated on Mildorf’s backyard.
The team installed fresh landscaping and added seasonal touches, including pumpkins and fall decorations, as the property was prepared for the welcome-home event.
“Every detail helped make the space feel warm, welcoming, and ready for this new chapter,” Building Homes for Heroes said.
The organization thanked the volunteers for contributing their labor in addition to the corporate support behind the project.
“To our Lowe’s volunteers, thank you for showing up with your time, your hands, and your hearts,” the nonprofit said. “Your support helped make this homecoming even more special.”
A Marine Who Enlisted After Sept. 11
Mildorf’s path to the home began long before this week’s ceremony.
According to Building Homes for Heroes, he enlisted in the Marine Corps after witnessing the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Over the next decade, he served through a period in which American forces were heavily engaged overseas. His deployments included service connected to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The 2006 attack left him with significant combat injuries, including the traumatic brain injury and shrapnel wounds that resulted in his Purple Heart.
Mildorf’s military record is also publicly reflected in his professional profile, which lists the Purple Heart as having been awarded by the Marine Corps in April 2006 for wounds received in action in Ramadi, Iraq.
His life after the Marines has remained tied closely to the veteran community.
Building Homes for Heroes said Mildorf now works with fellow veterans and military families while raising his two sons, Christian and Gabriel.
The organization described that continued service as an important part of why projects such as the Egg Harbor Township home go beyond the physical structure itself.
An Organization Built Around Mortgage-Free Homes
Building Homes for Heroes has increasingly focused on providing or modifying homes for veterans whose military service left them with serious injuries or disabilities.
Its programs have included newly constructed homes, renovated properties and mortgage-free housing, along with emergency financial assistance for veterans and first responders facing medical bills, natural disasters or other sudden hardships.
The nonprofit has said it is working toward completing hundreds of homes nationwide while expanding assistance beyond housing alone.
That broader mission was visible in Egg Harbor Township, where the event was not treated simply as a real-estate transaction.
Volunteers were planting, decorating and preparing individual rooms in the hours before Mildorf and his family arrived — details intended to make the house immediately feel lived in rather than simply handed over.
It was a fitting distinction for an organization whose stated mission centers on building lives along with homes.
The Egg Harbor Township project also adds another South Jersey story to SNN’s continuing coverage of veterans, community news and organizations supporting military families across the region.
For Mildorf, the result was tangible: after years of military service, combat wounds and continued work alongside other veterans, he and his sons now have a home prepared specifically for their next chapter.