SPARTA, Mich. — A veteran now living in West Michigan was surprised Tuesday morning with a new home— a tiny home.
Tabitha Foster was helping her friend Amber Covell take care of some of the fawn living at Soulshine Wildlife Center when the house-on-wheels pulled into the drive.
“What is that?,” Foster asked her friend.
It was her new home.
Pennsylvania-based company 84 Lumber decided to give Foster the home after she entered a contest they were holding.
“We have hundreds of military veterans within our organization. So we want to make sure they're feeling appreciated and really just take the time to give back to those that have served our country,” said Sarah Mellema, public relations manager at 84 Lumber.
“She just had a really compelling story about... coming back from Afghanistan and not really knowing what's next for her and trying to find the next career,” Mellema said.
By the time the house was rolling up the driveway, Foster was in shock.
“I’m a disabled veteran, so I don't have very much money. And I had no idea how I'm gonna move up here to Michigan, if it was even possible. And now I have a tiny house, Foster told FOX 17 Tuesday.
She is in the process of moving from Kentucky to West Michigan after six years in the Army National Guard as a pilot and then a medic.
Foster has a Masters in Biology and wants to focus her life now on working with animals. She will now begin working with Amber Covell and Soulshine Wildlife Center.
“Soulshine has just continued to grow. I see amazing things happening and now I have somebody on the team who understands the way I am and the way that I operate and someone who views things very similarly, and in terms of the animal welfare and how we want to care for the animals here,” Covell said.
With the help of a tiny home, Foster is now on her way to a big new adventure here in West Michigan.
“I have really bad PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury and stuff. So I'm very limited on what I can do. But this was something that I was like, if I could do anything, I would move to Michigan and help AC and Soulshine. And now it's happening,” Foster said.
