Bethesda
Kiwanis Visits the Fisher House at Navy Medical
by Immed. Past Gov. Bob Cressy
| We have all heard of the Fisher House which was founded to provide support to wounded veterans and their families while they are at medical facilities. The Fisher House is, well, a house with rooms like a hotel suite to accommodate a family staying with their veteran. In fact there are thirty eight such houses in the United States and in Germany for our troops. This house has a mirror image duplicate at the U.S. Navy Medical Center in Bethesda next to it. Each house can accommodate seven or eight families where they can sleep, eat, relax and share their challenges with others. |  |
| The stone marker shown is in thanks for Elizabeth and Zachary Fisher who began the Fisher Foundation where he made his fortune in construction and development. They wanted to help the wounded veterans and their families. In the Washington area, there are two houses at the U.S. Navy Medical and three at the Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital complex. "One Can Make A Difference", can’t they. Fisher Houses have grown dramatically, but the need remains great. |  |
| Some members of the Kiwanis Club of Bethesda visited and had a box luncheon meeting in November for a tour of the Fisher House facilities. The Club will be providing a dinner for the residents of the two Bethesda Naval houses on December 3rd. They will provide dinners, desserts and other meal items by bringing them to the site that day. For understandable privacy reasons, there is no direct contact with those being assisted. |  |
| A plaque in the front foyer simply reads: "The Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House. Their gift is dedicated to our greatest national treasure our military service men and women and their loved ones". One of the easiest and most useful gifts you could make is to donate gift cards for stores in the area so families can receive help with grocery and utility supplies while they are at Fisher House. Housing is provided without charge to the veteran's families. |  |
