thedrifter
11-23-06, 07:53 AM
Local nonprofit serves injured Marines in big ways
By: ALEXANDRA DELUCA - For the North County Times
CAMP PENDLETON -- This December, for the third year in a row, the nonprofit Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund will provide a grant to every injured or hospitalized Marine or sailor throughout the country as part of its annual Christmas Project.
"We'd just like to spread a little holiday cheer," said Wendy Lethin, director of business operations for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
While the Christmas Project would be a major undertaking for most nonprofit organizations, it is just one of the ways the Semper Fi Fund has helped Marines and other service members attached to Marine units who have been injured in combat or during training over the past 2 1/2 years.
The Semper Fi Fund, which was founded in May of 2004 by a group of Marine wives, has assisted more than 1,500 families with more than 3,000 grants totaling over $6.9 million -- a far cry from its humble beginnings, Lethin said.
"When we first started, we didn't have a lot of money to go on," said Lethin, one of the original Marine wives who helped start the nonprofit organization along with its founder and executive director, Karen Guenther. "We all chipped in $100."
Two and a half years and millions of dollars in donations later, the Semper Fi Fund has come a long way from handing out "Welcome Home" bags filled with toiletries and phone cards to injured Marines at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton.
Aside from pledging $100,000 to help furnish Camp Pendleton's recently established Wounded Warrior Center -- $84,000 of which has already been awarded --- the nonprofit organization regularly provides injured Marines with such necessities as wheelchair-accessible vans, iBOT Mobility Systems, Tempur-Pedic beds and wheelchair ramps.
"Each Marine has different obstacles to meet," said Lethin, who said assistance can be as simple as helping to buy plane tickets so a Marine's family members can be with their loved one at the hospital, or as complicated as completely renovating a Marine's home to make it wheelchair-accessible.
Lethin said the goal of the fund is to help Marines and their families with expenses that are not covered by the Department of Defense or the Veteran's Administration.
"The DOD has done a great job, but there's a limit to what they can do, and that's where we step in," Lethin said.
While the Semper Fi Fund provides Marines and their families with immediate assistance -- checks are generally given out within days of when a family applies for aid -- it is also committed to helping Marines throughout the entire phase of recovery and rehabilitation, which can take months or even years.
"We're with them a long time," said Lethin, who added that the fund continues to help Marines as they transition out of the Marine Corps or back into their unit.
"We try to meet any of their needs," said Angie McCrary, the Semper Fi Fund's West Coast event coordinator. "We don't let them go."
Although the Semper Fi Fund awards about $20,000 in grants to injured Marines and their families every day, it does not hold any formal fundraising events.
"It's all word of mouth," McCrary said.
However, she said, thousands of ordinary citizens have taken it upon themselves to raise money for the organization on their own.
"We get a lot of churches, lemonade stands -- one person had a barbecue and raised $15,000," McCrary said. "Every donation, no matter how small, is so important."
Now through Dec. 15, service members and federal employees can donate to the fund through the Combined Federal Campaign.
"It's a consistent giving that we can bank on," McCrary said.
Lethin said contributions are welcomed and needed throughout the year, not just during the holiday season.
"We continue to need donations," Lethin said. "It's such an honor to help these Marines. We want to be here helping them as long as we can."
For information about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, call (760) 725-3680 or visit www.semperfifund.org.
Ellie
By: ALEXANDRA DELUCA - For the North County Times
CAMP PENDLETON -- This December, for the third year in a row, the nonprofit Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund will provide a grant to every injured or hospitalized Marine or sailor throughout the country as part of its annual Christmas Project.
"We'd just like to spread a little holiday cheer," said Wendy Lethin, director of business operations for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
While the Christmas Project would be a major undertaking for most nonprofit organizations, it is just one of the ways the Semper Fi Fund has helped Marines and other service members attached to Marine units who have been injured in combat or during training over the past 2 1/2 years.
The Semper Fi Fund, which was founded in May of 2004 by a group of Marine wives, has assisted more than 1,500 families with more than 3,000 grants totaling over $6.9 million -- a far cry from its humble beginnings, Lethin said.
"When we first started, we didn't have a lot of money to go on," said Lethin, one of the original Marine wives who helped start the nonprofit organization along with its founder and executive director, Karen Guenther. "We all chipped in $100."
Two and a half years and millions of dollars in donations later, the Semper Fi Fund has come a long way from handing out "Welcome Home" bags filled with toiletries and phone cards to injured Marines at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton.
Aside from pledging $100,000 to help furnish Camp Pendleton's recently established Wounded Warrior Center -- $84,000 of which has already been awarded --- the nonprofit organization regularly provides injured Marines with such necessities as wheelchair-accessible vans, iBOT Mobility Systems, Tempur-Pedic beds and wheelchair ramps.
"Each Marine has different obstacles to meet," said Lethin, who said assistance can be as simple as helping to buy plane tickets so a Marine's family members can be with their loved one at the hospital, or as complicated as completely renovating a Marine's home to make it wheelchair-accessible.
Lethin said the goal of the fund is to help Marines and their families with expenses that are not covered by the Department of Defense or the Veteran's Administration.
"The DOD has done a great job, but there's a limit to what they can do, and that's where we step in," Lethin said.
While the Semper Fi Fund provides Marines and their families with immediate assistance -- checks are generally given out within days of when a family applies for aid -- it is also committed to helping Marines throughout the entire phase of recovery and rehabilitation, which can take months or even years.
"We're with them a long time," said Lethin, who added that the fund continues to help Marines as they transition out of the Marine Corps or back into their unit.
"We try to meet any of their needs," said Angie McCrary, the Semper Fi Fund's West Coast event coordinator. "We don't let them go."
Although the Semper Fi Fund awards about $20,000 in grants to injured Marines and their families every day, it does not hold any formal fundraising events.
"It's all word of mouth," McCrary said.
However, she said, thousands of ordinary citizens have taken it upon themselves to raise money for the organization on their own.
"We get a lot of churches, lemonade stands -- one person had a barbecue and raised $15,000," McCrary said. "Every donation, no matter how small, is so important."
Now through Dec. 15, service members and federal employees can donate to the fund through the Combined Federal Campaign.
"It's a consistent giving that we can bank on," McCrary said.
Lethin said contributions are welcomed and needed throughout the year, not just during the holiday season.
"We continue to need donations," Lethin said. "It's such an honor to help these Marines. We want to be here helping them as long as we can."
For information about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, call (760) 725-3680 or visit www.semperfifund.org.
Ellie