For more information, contact Janet Balk, 785-784-6606, Ext. 719.

December 1, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release prepared by: Linda Jerke

Barton Community College, on both Barton County and Fort Riley campuses, has actively raised funds for Fisher House in Landstuhl, Germany, for the past seven years. Barton’s 8th Annual Fisher House Fund Drive began on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, and will continue through Dec. 24.

This drive is dedicated to providing funds directly to Fisher House in Landstuhl, which is one of the first stops in the evacuation route for soldiers who have been wounded in action. Landstuhl is the location of the U.S. military’s only major medical center in a foreign country.

The Landstuhl Fisher House enables family members of hospitalized soldiers to be present during their hospitalization for illness, disease or injury. Barton’s donations to Fisher House at Landstuhl help provide funds for immediate soldier needs, help with family travel expenses and cover the cost of family lodging.

“We have students at Barton who have been impacted personally by Fisher House,” said Janet Balk, College eCompanion and Hybrid Coordinator for Barton’s Fort Riley Military Programs. She serves as chairperson for Barton’s Fort Riley Fisher House Fund Drive.

Balk said she has spoken to Barton students who have directly received assistance from Fisher House as an injured soldier or as the spouse of an injured service member. “In helping Fisher House, we are able to help our students,” she said.

Anyone wishing to make a donation may send it to: Fort Riley Fisher House Fund, Barton Community College, ATTN: Janet Balk, P.O. Box 2463, Fort Riley, KS 66442. All donations are tax-deductible.

The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. Today, there is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment.

The program recognizes the special sacrifices of American men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for medical care, Fisher House Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers.

Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 10,000 families, and has made available nearly three million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990. By law, there is no charge for any family to stay at a Fisher House operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual Fisher Houses operated by the Army, Navy and Air Force. No family pays to stay at any Fisher House.

In addition to constructing new houses, Fisher House Foundation continues to support existing Fisher Houses and help individual military families in need.

More information about Fisher House can be found on its Web site, http://www.fisherhouse.org/theHouses/europe.shtml.