Team Fisher House Opens Arms to Marine

Team Fisher House Opens Arms to Marine

The Globe

By Stacia Sydoriak

10.05.10

This year, the Marine Corps Marathon, fourth largest marathon in the country and eighth largest in the world, sold out with 30,000 registrants in just under six days.

For those interested in running, there is still a great way to get involved. For those already registered as an individual runner, it is not too late to become part of a charitable team.

Team Fisher House has spots available for both the Marine Corps Marathon and 10K event October 31 in Washington, D.C.

Since 1991, the Fisher House Foundation has been building houses to provide a temporary home for family members of military personnel receiving treatment at a major military or Veterans Affairs medical center. There are currently 45 Fisher Houses, with one slated to open aboard Camp Lejeune later this year.

Team Fisher House is an organization that began in 2006 when Army wives Cathy Cabrey and Stacy Toner trained to run the Marine Corps Marathon.


After hearing about Fisher House from friend and then Military Spouse magazine editor Regina Galvin, the idea of running the MCM to benefit Fisher House was born.

“It seemed like a great way to raise awareness, and they had been wanting to get involved with the MCM for 10 years, but had no one to organize it,” said Cabrey.

Enter Cabrey and Toner. They created the online grassroots organization Team Fisher House. Cabrey is now the program director and Toner is the team coach. In the first year, the team had 85 runners and raised $70,000 and has grown ever since.

Through the MCM and any other event an individual chose to participate in as a part of Team Fisher House, more than $2 million have been raised for the foundation to date.

“It has amazed us and has been more successful then we ever envisioned. It has allowed people to raise awareness and funds,” said Derek Donovan, of Fisher House Foundation.

The MCM is still the signature event for Team Fisher House, with approximately 300 runner slots this year.

The evening before the race, Team Fisher House will hold a dinner, featuring motivational speaker Army Capt. Ivan Castro, the only active-duty individual who is blind and serves in special forces.

For more information, visit www.teamfisherhouse.org/2010mcm or contact Cabrey at 240-599-2473 or ccabrey@fisherhouse.org.