Tim McGraw donates the ultimate in military lodging: 25 homes to veterans

Charles Zuckerman

Acquiring military lodging can be difficult for many veterans and active-duty servicemembers, but Tim McGraw is looking to change that. The country singer is donating 25 mortgage-free homes during his Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny Chesney this summer, The Associated Press reports.

The campaign is one that is close to his heart, McGraw said in an interview.

"My sister's a veteran, my uncle’s a veteran, my grandfather was a veteran, one of my best friends is a veteran," McGraw said, the news source reports. "I've known people my whole life who are in service to America. And I think in my position to be able to do something like that is probably the ultimate thing. So to be able to go on tour and provide sort of a stable foundation for a veteran and their family is something I really look forward to."

McGraw is partnering with Chase and the charity Operation Homefront for the program. It is also made possible thanks to contributions from the Academy of Country Music's ACM Lifting Lives Program and The Premier Group on behalf of the North Carolina Furniture Manufacturers.

The campaign, dubbed HomeFront, comes at a crucial time, as veteran homelessness is being discussed in Congress. The House of Representatives recently voted to further protect servicemembers from home foreclosures and to protect disabled veterans and surviving military spouses, Reuters reports. The measure comes after tens of thousands of military members lost their homes with the 2006 real estate market collapse.

"Our troops fighting overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan should not have to fight here at home just to keep a roof over the heads of their loved ones," Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told the publication.

The bill would extend some benefits that are about to end for veterans, expand the law to cover spouses, give more time for foreclosure proceedings and raise penalties for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by mortgage companies. It also extends the law to cover veterans who are disabled at the time of discharge and troops who serve in contingency operations like national emergencies, the news outlet reports.

The HomeFront campaign kicks off over Memorial Day weekend with a concert by McGraw at New York City's Beacon Theater during Fleet Week. The official Brothers of the Sun tour with Chesney starts June 2 in Tampa. The country superstars, who haven't toured together since the early 2000s, will play 19 shows over the course of the tour, ending in August at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, Billboard News reports.

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