(Tribune News Service) — Donations to an Annapolis veteran in need of expansive home repairs have skyrocketed in recent days, surpassing $50,000 from a range of public and private sources.

Robert Henson, 85, and his daughter Robin Henson, 43, live together in a small home near Truxtun Park. Social Security is their only source of income and both require wheelchairs. The daughter has cerebral palsy.

The home, not much bigger than an apartment but beloved by both, has become a source of struggle for the pair. Beyond a rickety, makeshift ramp leading up to the front porch, vital spaces inside like the bathroom and kitchen are cramped and incompatible with their needs. Though the family has applied for county, state and federal assistance, the search for funds has been an uphill battle.

Recently, the Anne Arundel County Veterans Affairs Commission began working with the Hensons, evaluating the home and launching a GoFundMe page for potential repairs.

Between Tuesday and Thursday, the donations have risen from approximately $4,200 to over $26,000. Donations can be made at gofund.me/cec0c65a.

Brooks Tucker, vice chair of the county Veteran Affairs Commission, said that work on the front porch ramp may begin as early as next week, thanks to the new funding.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, is all I can say,” Henson told The Capital on Wednesday afternoon.

Henson served in the U.S. Army for six years, shortly before the Vietnam War, and returned to his home in Annapolis. Though he spent most of his career driving trucks, he worked as a mechanic in 1974 at Capitol Motors. One day that summer, walking along West Street near the shop, Henson heard children yelling from a car, plumes of smoke spilling out from it. Without pause, Henson pulled sisters Michelle and Dana Moreland, 4 and 2 years old, out of the burning vehicle.

Henson did not consider himself a hero that day, saying he didn’t do anything “any other red-blooded American wouldn’t have done in the same circumstances.”

But the public’s response to his family’s story is nothing less than a sign of appreciation.

“I think this shows the power of the veteran community and the larger community when we share a story like this,” Tucker said. “I think it’s been a labor of love, and we feel very empowered to be able to help someone.”

The GoFundMe donations have been matched by a $25,000 pledge secured earlier this month by SIXGEN, an Annapolis-based cybersecurity company. Its CEO, Ethan Dietrich, is another veteran and member of the commission.

Disappointed by the government’s lack of assistance, Dietrich said he decided to become an active part of the Hensons’ renovation after helping clean up their yard with the veterans commission. Seeing the disarray of the family home, he said he knew he needed to do more.

“I’m an Army combat vet and it wasn’t long ago I was trying to leave the Army and transfer my skills into the civilian workforce,” Dietrich said. “Mr. Henson is from several generations ago where that transition was probably far more difficult than what I experienced.”

SIXGEN’s donation will be made through the Texas-based charity Operation Finally Home, which Tucker said will earmark the funds to Henson.

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