U.S. Navy Seabees helps renovates home with Revitalize Milwaukee

By Sean Brynda
July 15, 2025, 5:44 pm

MILWAUKEE– As part of the U.S. Navy’s 250th Anniversary, the Navy is sharing the celebration of Milwaukee Navy Week by sending sailors across city neighborhoods and communities to help support and engage.

One of the programs that are a part of supporting the community is a team of Navy Seabees working with Revitalize Milwaukee to help repair and renovate housing for low-income families, veterans and people living with disabilities.

Dan Cross is a Navy veteran and works with Revitalize Milwaukee as a construction and lead specialist who says the Seabees provide land-based engineering and construction of buildings during military operations.

“The Seabee sector in the Navy is really great because they do just about everything from humanitarian work to military work such as building installations and platforms for all other parts of the Navy,” said Cross. “It’s pretty awesome that back home in community, they are giving back and it’s not only great practice work for them, it’s also great for everyday citizens to see how their military operates.”

Second Class Construction Electrician Jackson Garbarek is from Milwaukee for Navy Week and says that he’s happy to be back home for the week to help out.

“I’m glad to be back in the community where I was raised and getting some outreach and showing people who we are and what the Seabees are all about,” said Garbarek. “At this time, we have to get a kitchen sink fixed with a massive clog. When it comes to the bathroom, I think we’ll try to hang a different light fixture. Hopefully, we can get that done and replace the exhaust fan in there as well. We also plan to install some carbon monoxide alarms as well.”

Stephania Knight-Graham says she’s grateful for the help that the Revitalize Milwaukee and the Seabees were able to provide repairs and renovations to her home as she’s dealing with chemotherapy treatment.

“I knew that I needed repairs and I knew that if anyone could help me out, it would be Revitalize Milwaukee,” said Knight-Graham. “I’ve seen the work they’ve done in the past and I’ve seen how well they interact with the community. Plus, the outcome of their work is similar to the quality of care if I were to do it myself, because I treat my home like my baby.”

The Seabees also provided additional help by adding new railings for the front porch and building a new picnic table for Knight-Graham to enjoy in her backyard.

By the end of the project, Knight-Graham says she will be ecstatic with newly adjusted living conditions that make her life a little bit better.

“Just know that we really need to appreciate our servicemen right now more than ever because you know there’s a strain on them right now and with them even coming out to help me at my house is such a blessing,” said Knight-Graham. “Thank them when you see them. Give them a hug. There’s a lot of good care in people out there and we need to be more aware of that.”

The U.S. Navy will continue to have more events across Milwaukee later in the week and will be present for the Milwaukee Air and Water Show at the end of the week.