Fisher House Gift Card Campaign

About The Program

The Fisher House Gift Card Drive is an innovative, unique opportunity for grateful Americans to remember and thank the wounded troops, especially during holiday seasons. This ground-breaking program started as a small service project sponsored by the Walter Reed Auxiliary, and has culminated in an extraordinary partnership between the Fisher House Foundation and military medical Auxiliary and volunteer organizations from around the world. For more information on the project, please click here: Walter Reed Gift Card Drive

How It Works

Each Military Treatment Facility (MTF) has an Auxiliary or other volunteer support organization that raises awareness and requests donations from its members and their friends and families. Donors can make a tax-deductible donation to purchase gift cards for soldiers and their families at a specific Fisher House by clicking on a location from the drop-down menu under "View Fundraising Pages". The Fisher House Foundation will pool donations for each Fisher House, and use the funds to purchase gift cards in equal denominations from online retailers to ensure that every family and guest staying at each Fisher House receives at least one gift card that can be used to purchase gifts for family and friends.

Benefits to Donors

• 100% of your tax-deductible donation will be used to purchase gift cards that go directly to the wounded soldiers and their families at the Fisher House you choose.
• You can make donations to as many Fisher Houses as you like; simply click on each link in the drop-down menu above.
• An easy, simple way to remember our wounded troops and say "Thank You" with a gesture that truly does make a difference.

Benefits to Fisher House Residents

• Gift cards provide soldiers and their families the opportunity to purchase gifts for each other.
• Gift cards provide a convenient way to purchase and ship gifts directly to parents, siblings, and friends and family back home.

Gift cards can be used for birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day, Valentine's Day, and other holidays throughout the year, in addition to spreading good cheer during the Winter Holidays.

History

The first Fisher House Gift Card Drive was a small service project sponsored by the Walter Reed Auxiliary during the 2007 holiday season. In fall of 2007, at the suggestion of Fisher House Manager Kate Deyermond, WRA asked its members to purchase gift cards for the soldiers and families at the WRAMC Fisher House. The WRA collected the gift cards and gave them to Kate to distribute to the families staying there during the holiday season. From one simple email request to members, the program took off beyond all expectations. WRA members not only purchased gift cards, but also shared the idea with their friends and families, and raised $4365 in gift cards to online retailers in only 3 months. Contributions came from grateful Americans all over the country who just wanted to remember the soldiers and their families during the holidays. Every family staying at the Fisher House received at least one gift card, many received more. Patients and their families loved the convenience of purchasing online and being able to have a gift shipped directly to the recipient.

Future Goals

As the email started to circulate and word of this new program spread, the Fisher House Foundation offered support and encouragement for this worthy endeavor. The Fisher House Gift Card Drive now operates under the auspices of the Fisher House Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Starting in 2008, the program raises funds to purchase gift cards for all Army Fisher Houses. By 2011, we hope to include all Fisher Houses throughout all branches of the military, worldwide. The Walter Reed Auxiliary, along with Auxiliary and other volunteer support groups for Army Medical Centers around the world, continues our involvement by asking our members to contribute and spread the word about this wonderful way to remember the troops.

Fisher House™ Foundation, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. Donations are tax deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.