She and her husband are both in the military. But her husband, Wes, is disabled with a painful genetic disorder in his spinal cord.

“I think it’s unbelievable that people are so passionate in helping other people out.”

Mary Thiebault came to help the Sprauls. Her own son is in the military.

“It’s exciting to see that a family will have such joy for the holiday season.”

Jeff Jones was never in the military. But his father and grandfather were, and he wanted to honor their memory. So he started the group called Decorate a Vet.

“I think it’s important to clean the outside of the homes and decorate for Christmas because, you know, this is the time of year when people are trying to give back, and it also happens to correspond with the time of the year when houses are starting to look a little sloppy with leaf debris.”

Wayne Parks and a group of people from his work went to the home of a woman with three small children and a husband serving overseas.

“They need all the help they can get, especially when, you know, our servicemen are far away and can’t help out their families back at home. This is just our way of giving back a little bit, best we can.”

One veteran of World War Two died three weeks before volunteers from Decorate a Vet visited his home. The volunteers helped his widow, Carol Keister, decorate for the holidays.