A few months ago Trulia hosted a sweepstakes giving away $50,000 — and as part of that giveaway we asked fans on our Facebook page to share how winning would impact their home search and their lives.
Hundreds of people chimed in, sharing incredibly personal stories. We were moved by each of the heartfelt responses.
In fact, we were so moved that when we partnered with Veterans United, we decided to surprise one of the veterans who commented on our page with $50,000. Our team quickly started crafting a plan for how we could surprise and delight this unsuspecting service member in person.
So that’s how we ended up on a plane to Bristol, TN, where U.S. Air Force veteran Ashley Rivera lives with her family. Ashley agreed to be interviewed about her military service and home-buying experience.
“Before bed we say our prayers and we say one thing we’re thankful for and one thing that we ask God for,” she told us during the interview. “Last night, our oldest son said that he’s thankful for mommy’s cooking, and then he asked God for more money so we could keep our bigger house.”
What Ashley didn’t know is that Trulia and Veterans United would be handing her a check for $50,000.
“Definitely not in a million years did I think that his prayer would be answered. I’m shaking right now; I feel extremely blessed. We’re just normal people separating off active duty struggling like everybody else does and this is pretty surreal right now.”
Trulia and Veterans United are proud to honor Ashley’s service and the service and sacrifice of all veterans.
