PBG volunteers bring festivity with all the fixins to hospitalized veterans
It wasn’t the way 15 PBG employees in upstate New York had originally planned to kick off the long Thanksgiving weekend.
But neither was it the way the WWII combat veteran had figured he’d be starting the holiday–in the hospital, awaiting chemotherapy. Under treatment at the Stratton Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Albany, he would have faced a bleak few days. Instead, he, his wife and another dozen or so hospitalized veterans and their spouses enjoyed a festive turkey dinner prepared and served by a team from PBG’s Albany facility.
The event took place next to the hospital in a home-away-from-home run by Fisher House, an organization that since 1990 has provided housing for more than 110,000 military families visiting loved ones at major hospitals run by the military and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Use of the homes, which are normally within walking distance of a treatment facility, is offered free of charge.
On Veterans Day 2007, The PBG Foundation announced a $25,000 donation to the Fisher House organization on behalf of the more than 3,000 PBG employees who have served or are serving in the U.S. armed forces. The money went to four Fisher Houses: Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York; Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland; Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas; and the Greater Los Angeles Health Care System in West Los Angeles, California.
Hands-on help
The upstate New York employees from PBG wanted to go beyond sending a check, so they hand-delivered some special cheer to the residents of their local Fisher House. They prepared a great meal and spent hours talking with the veterans and their spouses.
Because of the volunteer time that the team spent at the local Fisher House, The PBG Foundation donated an extra $1,000 to the facility.
Drew Parsons, PBG Human Resources Director in Albany, says he hopes to be back at Fisher House with his fellow employees and some turkey dinners on Thanksgiving 2008. “We can’t help every soldier, but we’ll do our best to help the families we can reach. They have given so much of themselves, and it’s an honor to be able to give something back to them.”
*Answer: (B) 2.5 million days
Did you know...*
There is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center. The organization serves more than 10,000 families a year and has made how many days of lodging available to family members since the organization was founded in 1990?
A 1 million days
B 2.5 million days
C 5 million days
