Hoover Home Depot employees build accessible deck for Ben Abercrombie, family

Employees at the Riverchase Galleria Home Depot recently constructed a wheelchair accessible deck and ramp for Hoover resident Ben Abercrombie and his family.

Abercrombie, a Hoover High alum, is recovering from a paralyzing spinal cord injury sustained during a September 2017 football game during his freshman year at Harvard. Mark Hamilton, the store manager of the Hoover Home Depot, said he heard about Abercrombie's story, met his family and felt they would be a perfect fit for a project through the Home Depot Foundation.

Hamilton said his store completes three to four projects a year for local residents through the foundation, typically for veterans who need work done in their homes. He said that while much of the interior of the Abercrombies' home has been made wheelchair accessible, they wanted to help with the exterior as well.

The Foundation paid for about $8,400 of materials to build a back deck, fire pit and wheelchair ramp that Ben Abercrombie can access. About 24 volunteers, both Home Depot employees and community members, constructed the deck and ramp in late March and early April.

“So now he can move freely indoors and outdoors,” Hamilton said.

The best part of the project, according to Hamilton, was meeting and befriending the Abercrombie family.

“It was awesome. I gotta tell you, Ben is ... just the most inspiring young man,” Hamilton said. “His attitude, his perseverance is just amazing.”

The Home Depot Foundation project is one of several that Hoover community members have put together to support the Abercrombies as Ben recovers, including restaurant nights, Stand Up for Ben and a Harvard fund for injured student-athletes established in his honor.