DES MOINES, Iowa — This holiday season, a Des Moines family is getting a special gift.
Firefighter and Iraq War veteran Mike Broderick has stage four liver cancer after exposure to toxins overseas.
But his community is supporting him in this time of hardship.
Broderick’s home mortgage is being paid off entirely by Building Homes for Heroes.
"The family being able to take a deep breath and relax and appreciate each other and recover and move on from there, I feel it in my soul,” said Kim Vesey, Building Homes for Heroes president and general counsel. “It never gets old to see people take that deep breath."
The nonprofit has worked since 2006 to gift homes to veterans returning home from service.
While originally founded in the aftermath of 9/11 to help support veterans, recently, the organization has expanded its mission to support first responders as well.
Broderick is both a first responder and a veteran, serving nearly two decades in the Army and for 16 years as a Des Moines firefighter.
When Building Homes for Heroes heard about Broderick’s bout with cancer, Vesey said they knew they needed to help.
"It's just our small way of giving back to him for everything that he's done,” Vesey said.
Fellow Des Moines firefighter Tyler Mark is also a board member of Building Homes for Heroes and a friend of Broderick’s.
"Mike is a brother to me and to all of us,” Mark said. “Mike is the epitome of doing what needs to be done."
Mark said when the organization learned of Broderick’s history of heroism and current state of health, paying off the Broderick family’s mortgage was a no-brainer.
"They're worried about Mike and his health and that was the organization's goal: to take away that burden and that fear, that unknown, and just let Mike focus on Mike and the family can support him and they don't have to worry about the mortgage," Mark said.
It’s the least Building Homes for Heroes can do, according to Mark, for someone who has spent their life dedicated to service.
"Mike, his whole adult life has been giving back to the community and the country,” Mark said. “Mike has always stepped up and answered the call when others needed help and he's always done it quietly and professionally, and now it's time for Mike to focus and take care of himself and the community to help support Mike."
While they've expanded their mission to help first responders in addition to veterans, Building Homes for Heroes said they are always in need of more funding to continue their work.
They said this upcoming Giving Tuesday is a great time to donate to their cause.