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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2026 7 HOMES for our TROOPS By Clare Mendez, Resident Under a blazing Fallbrook sun, volunteers gathered to help turn a house into a home for Army SPC Seth Wakeling, who sustained a traumatic brain injury and lost his left leg below the knee after stepping on an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan. Members of the SDV Veterans and Friends Club and other willful neighbors joined the effort as part of their continuing collaboration with Homes For Our Troops, and the project is now nearing completion. The temperature reached 100 degrees, but the heat did little to slow more than 90 volunteers — including 11 from Solera Diamond Valley. Together, they laid 2,700 square feet of sod, planted 300 donated shrubs, and spread 554 yards of mulch, transforming the property in just a few hours. Homes For Our Troops kept the day running smoothly. Volunteers received T-shirts, gardening gloves, and cooling neck wraps before getting to work. When the landscaping was complete, everyone was treated to a welcome cold lunch, along with plenty of water, soda, and Gatorade. Wakeling worked alongside his wife, Adriana, and their three young children. Meeting them brought the purpose of the day into sharp focus: every shovel of mulch and newly planted shrub represented a community's gratitude made visible. Next month, the Wakeling family is expected to receive the keys to their specially adapted 2,700-square-foot custom home, designed to offer greater safety, accessibility, and independence. The SDV Quilting Club will add a personal touch by presenting the family with a handmade quilt to display on the wall. Days like this reveal the character of a community. I left Fallbrook proud to live among residents whose generosity, thoughtfulness, and willingness to serve can help a deserving family begin its next chapter.