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The Villages
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Halloween-themed bash to help fund disabled veteran’s new Villages smart home

Villagers for Veterans will be hosting a special Halloween-themed event to raise money for a disabled veteran’s new home.

The Monster Dinner Dance Bash will be held Friday, Oct. 25 at the Wildwood Community Center, located at 6500 Powell Road. The event, which will last from 6-9 p.m., will feature music provided by Hollywood and the Tropix. Dinner, dessert and iced tea will be provided and it’s BYOB.

Army veteran Sgt. Pam Kelly

Tickets are $25 per person and prizes will be awarded for best, most original and most fun costume. Contact Marie Bogdonoff at (516) 220-5068 or visit Villagersforveterans.org for ticket information.

Proceeds from the dinner will go toward a new smart home that’s being built for disabled Army veteran Sgt. Pam Kelly. The house is located at 1307 Teakwood Ln. in the Village of Orange Blossom Gardens and construction already is under way. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the project in January and in June the Architectural Review Committee gave the home its blessings.

Construction on Sgt. Pam Kelly’s new smart home, located at 1307 Teakwood Ln. in the Village of Orange Blossom Gardens, already is under way.

The smart home has been specially designed for Kelly, a 17-year Army veteran who was injured while training for deployment to Iraq. Kelly’s spine was crushed when a cable snapped during a sling load operation. As a result of her injuries, she is permanently paralyzed and has very limited use of one arm.

The home will be block and mortar with stucco finish. It will include a generator and a sidewalk that will provide for a rear emergency exit for the wheelchair-bound Kelly, who in November 2018 also took part in a flightless Honor Flight that she called a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

A 300-year-old Live Oak tree is being preserved in the yard of Kelly’s home, which also will include a 12-foot Sylvester Palm Tree and will have St. Augustine grass. A 20-foot flagpole with a brick base also will be constructed.

A crowd of area residents joined Villagers for Veterans in January to celebrate the groundbreaking event for a ‘smart’ home for disabled Army veteran Pam Kelly.

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