On December 5th, Access – Chicago visited its local hospital to cook dinner for Veterans Affairs (VA) families at the Fisher House in Hines, IL. Fisher Houses provide military families with housing close to their loved ones in hospital care.

Since its inception, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $282 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation. The foundation has built 62 houses so far and served 25,000 families in 2014 alone. Celebrating 25 years of service this year, the Fisher house program is 100% volunteer run and is supported solely on donations.

General Manager Brian Nowak said, “It was an honor and pleasure giving up a little bit of our time to make the families of some of our Veterans a little more comfortable while they stand by the side of their Veteran in a time of need.”

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The Chicago team has also adopted a Veteran and his family through the Fisher House program. The team will be meeting the family on December 21st, and will be giving them a sleigh full of Holiday gifts. Stay tuned for updates on this visit.

You can learn more about Fisher House here.

 

Food%20Drive

Meanwhile Access – Cincinnati embodied the giving spirit this November. The team held a food drive lasting two weeks by partnering with local food bank Shared Harvest, in order to collect canned goods and non-perishable items. They also collected items that many of us take for granted such as shampoo and soap.

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After reaching out to clients, the Cincinnati team was delighted by the response and dropped off an abundance of items to Shared Harvest. The Cincinnati team wishes to thank all of the clients who pitched in, but specifically Good Sam Hospital Medical Records, Christ Hospital Dermatology, U.C. Health Alliance (Vault), Lancaster Colony, Summer Hill, and Communicare.

With everyone’s help, they were able to donate two large bins along with several boxes! What a great way to give back during the holiday season!