Ohio Veteran Receives Mortgage-Free Home from Tim McGraw, Operation Homefront and Chase

CLEVELAND, July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At his July 29 concert at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Tim McGraw will congratulate U.S. Army Specialist Frank DeLorenzo on being awarded a mortgage-free home in North Royalton, Ohio. Country music superstar Tim McGraw recently launched a nationwide program called HomeFront, in partnership with Operation Homefront and Chase, to award mortgage-free homes to wounded warriors and servicemembers at each concert of his summer tour.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110623/DC25541LOGO)

DeLorenzo grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Since being honorably discharged, his commitment to serve remains stronger than ever as DeLorenzo now works as an Army Wounded Warrior Advocate helping soldiers like himself. In addition, DeLorenzo and his wife recently founded Wags 4 Warriors, a nonprofit organization that matches veterans with rescue dogs that are trained to assist veterans in need. DeLorenzo and his wife have five children and are looking forward to moving into their new home and building a solid foundation for the future.

McGraw has a long history of supporting veterans and military families and wanted to find another way to honor our vets and give back to them for their commitment and service to our country. "My sister's a veteran of the first Gulf War. My uncle was a Vietnam veteran and my grandfather was a World War II veteran. I've always felt a deep sense of respect and obligation to our troops," says McGraw. "Being able to reward them for their dedicated work with a new home is even more rewarding for us. It feels so good to give back to them, and to have the opportunity to entertain them is something I'm honored to do."

In addition to the homes, provided by Chase, both ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music, and The Premier Group on behalf of the North Carolina Furniture Manufacturers, have made substantial contributions to support the HomeFront program throughout the summer.

About Operation Homefront:

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers across 22 Chapters and has met more than 590,000 needs of military families since its inception in 2002. A four-star rated charity by watchdog Charity Navigator, nationally, 94 percent of total revenue donated to Operation Homefront goes directly to assist servicemembers in need. For more information, go to www.operationhomefront.net.

About Chase:

Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. Chase serves more than 50 million consumers and small businesses through more than 5,500 bank branches, 17,500 ATMs, credit cards and mortgage offices, and online and mobile banking as well as through relationships with auto dealerships. More information about Chase is available at www.chase.com.

SOURCE Operation Homefront