Build a Northwest Fisher House
Mar 22, 2013, 12:59 PM | Updated: Jun 28, 2013, 5:46 am
Fisher House Foundation, which constructs comfort homes to provide free, temporary housing to the families of service members receiving medical care at Veterans Affairs and military hospitals around the world, announced a community partnership with Bonneville Seattle and partners to help raise awareness and funds for the need for a second Fisher House at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, to serve the growing number of military families here.
Members of the partnership including the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, Toyota of Puyallup and Bonneville Seattle, announced it would launch a public awareness campaign to raise funds for the construction of the badly needed Fisher House.
“The lone Fisher House currently in operation here at JBLM is bursting at the seams and it’s no longer enough to serve the growing needs of the military families who come here to help a loved one through the difficult medical and rehabilitation process,” said David Coker, President of Fisher House Foundation. “A second house is essential to the mission at Lewis-McChord. We’re grateful to KIRO for taking the first step in what we hope will be a successful community awareness effort.”
The JBLM Fisher house was built in 1992 and has eight bedrooms, surrounding common living, dining and kitchen facilities. The average stay for a military family is two weeks and the house has operated at 100% capacity for the last three years. Last year, more than 300 families stayed at the Fisher House, at a savings of more than $450,000 in lodging expenses.
“Fisher House allowed me to be with my son Matt through all of his medical treatments – including painful surgeries and weeks of rehabilitation – without having to worry about the cost of living in a hotel or apartment near the hospital,” said Mike Zajac, whose son Matt was injured by an IED explosion in Iraq and received life-changing medical care at Brooke Army Medical Center. “I know Matt got better faster because I could be here with him. We need to give other military families that same opportunity.”
“Healing our wounded warriors and caring for their families is a mission all of us in the Pacific Northwest want to join,” said Carl Gardner, Vice President/Market Manager for Bonneville’s Seattle Radio Group, including News/Talk KIRO 97.3 FM & 710 AM, and KTTH AM 770. “At Bonneville, we’re excited to pull together our community of friends and bring this new Fisher House to life, to give something back to the soldiers and their families who have given us so much over these past ten years.”
“Toyota of Puyallup is proud to help build awareness and lend support to the Fisher House,” said Kerry Bivens, President of Toyota of Puyalup. “We believe strongly in their mission of providing free housing for family members of wounded soldiers. We look forward to getting the much-needed second Fisher House off-the-ground so it can benefit even more of our military families.”
“The Seattle Seahawks are honored to lend our support to help build a new Fisher House in the Northwest,” said Mike Flood, Seattle Seahawks Vice President Community Relations & Special Projects. “Supporting our military community and their families is at the core of team’s values.”
“The Seattle Mariners are proud to join with the Seattle Seahawks and Bonneville Radio to support this great cause. We are deeply indebted to the men and women who serve our nation and Fisher House is an invaluable resource for those individuals and their families during a time of need,” said Joe Chard, Seattle Mariners Vice President of Community Relations and Corporate Business.
