For the past three years, Proskauer’s Washington, D.C. office has served a gourmet holiday meal to resident visitors at the Fisher House located near the VA Medical Center. We were happy to continue this tradition on December 11, 2017, when a team from our D.C. office brought great food and friendly faces to a group of military and veterans’ families at the Fisher House.
The Fisher House is part of a network of facilities in the U.S. and Europe that provides “a home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The homes are normally located within walking distance of a treatment facility or have transportation available. This network of comfort homes allows military and veterans’ families to stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment at a VA medical facility.
To provide a sense of scope, the Fisher House Foundation – rated as an A+ organization from CharityWatch, one of only two charities to receive this distinctive rating – has been offering these services since 1990. Since its inception, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $360 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation. Fisher House facilities have served over 305,000 families since it began and more than 28,000 in 2016 alone.
The Fisher House Foundation provides an incredibly valuable resource to military and veterans’ families. As great as the facilities are, though, their work is hard, especially at the holiday season. Families are anxious about the health of their loved ones and that sense of angst is particularly acute when it is a time to be together celebrating with family and friends.
Proskauer is proud to have, as one of its key areas of corporate social responsibility, a particular focus on supporting the military and veterans through many different programs throughout the Firm and in the communities we serve. As part of our CSR programs, we in the D.C. office have “adopted” the Fisher House for a holiday meal.
By bringing warm food and spending time with the families, we are able to lend our hands to the collective family group. It is particularly gratifying to see the smiles on their faces as the resident visitors come home to a warm cooked meal. As the head of our D.C. office, I am particularly proud to have participated along with my colleagues in each of these visits to the Fisher House and look forward to many more in the years ahead.