“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”
Kathy Calvin
The crew at Blue Moon Mobile RV in Carrollton, Texas made a profound difference after deciding to refurbish an early 2000 Keystone fifth wheel model for the sake of recognizing and honoring our nation’s heroes. Upon the near completion of the RV renovation, they held a raffle and donated the funds raised to the organization Carry the Load. This non-profit’s mission is dedicated to remembering and celebrating our nation’s military, veterans, and first responders through a number of community projects.
Blue Moon RV owners, Rodney and Abby Simmons had the idea to remodel the repossessed fifth wheel back in early 2017. The couple initially worked on the project during their free time on weekends and later recruited their staff for the final stages of completion. The company documented the remodeling progress on their Instagram page.
The fifth wheel was raffled off and a young family won the home on wheels. The renovation upgrades include a brilliant exterior wrap, new interior wallpaper, fresh paint, brand new appliances, furniture, vinyl plank flooring, a tub, roof recoating, plumbing, new tires, and much more.
In total, 1000 man-hours were put into this project with over $20,000 worth of upgrades.
Abby Simmons described the RV renovation as a “lemons to lemonade” undertaking. She explained that true grit was used to work through those many weekends. The entire staff of Blue Moon Mobile RV certainly displayed the characteristics of grit with Abby and Rodney leading the pack.
Courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience, and passion make up true grit. These are the same characteristics that members of our military, veterans, and first responders possess that make them heroes. It took these same qualities to see an RV renovation project through whose funds can now help our nation’s heroes.
Carry the Load hosts year-round patriotic activities like the Dallas May March, cross-country relays, national cemetery clean-up/beautification projects, and educational outreach programs for the youth. Through fundraisers, like the raffle Blue Moon Mobile RV participated in, proceeds go towards a number of rehabilitation programs to help our heroes. These include counseling services, suicide prevention, service dogs, job placements, home improvements, and assisting homeless veterans, to name a few.
