Volunteers truly are the heart and soul of Team Fisher House.  With such a small staff, Fisher House Foundation depends on the generosity of volunteers to support the team on race day.

Each Mile Marker volunteer will receive a Team Fisher House volunteer shirt, TFH hat, and as many cow bells as they can carry to cheer on our team runners as they pass by.     

No experience nor prior knowledge of DC is necessary - detailed maps and directions will be supplied! 

• Friends and Family
• Neighbors 
• Co-Workers
• Military and Military Spouse Organizations 
• Sports Teams
• Book Clubs 
• Religious Organizations 
• Schools
• Boy Scouts / Girl Scouts 

Featured Event -  Team Fisher House at the 2011 Air Force Marathon Races 

Team Fisher House is hosting a fundraising team at the 2011 Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio on September 17, 2011.  The total raised to date by our 70 registered runners has topped $33,000 and will benefit the construction of the new Fisher House at the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Runners are coming from all over the world to run these great races as part of Team Fisher House

Read some of the comments contributors have made to the runners whose campaigns they are supporting:

• "We can not begin to repay what Fisher House has done & meant to our family. They were there when we needed it and we want it to be there & even better for others who need it now and in the future. Though I don't know the people and families that are in need of the Fisher House, my thoughts and prayers are with them everyday."
• "Hi Barb, I think it's great that you're combining your love for running with such a wonderful charity. Glad to help!"
• "Matt, this is such a wonderful cause. Thanks again for exposing us to a new way to support those who do SO much for our country!!!"
• "Thanks for including us in this opportunity to support your team and, more importantly, the families of those who serve all of us so bravely and unselfishly. Good luck with the race! God bless all who serve the cause of freedom!"
• "Remember the pain is just for a short time and the cause is so great! Best of luck!

Thank you, Team Fisher House - You truly are Champions for Military Families!  

Reflections from a Tripler Fisher House Guest 

Born and raised on Guam, my husband enlisted with the Air National Guard, he took on monthly weekend warrior trainings and the occasional TDY assignments while I worked as an administrative assistant to provide for our family. Our family consisted of my husband, myself, and our three children. We were a simple family and took life one day at a time.

It was 2008 and Joel, my husband was preparing to be deployed to Saudi Arabia at the time. I was about five months pregnant expecting our fourth child. And as any other military spouse can relate, I instantly put on my mommy and daddy hat and held down the fort. The pregnancy went fine not much different that my other pregnancies, no red flags that anything was abnormal. With my mom and brother at my side, I gave birth to a baby girl weighing in at 5lbs 10oz. on July 17, 2008.

Immediately after delivery, I knew something was wrong because I didn't hear her crying and she was taken into another room. The doctor simply said, "Don't be alarmed, your baby is deformed, she has extra folds of skin, she needs to be tested for Down syndrome, she has no visible neck and her nasal bone isn't present, oh and its a girl." I was terrified; I didn't know what to think or how to react. Could this really be happening? Two hours had passed and I was overcome with emotion. I just waited until the nurses said that I could see my baby. Immediately after I held her in my arms, all those feelings and questions disappeared. At that moment, as I held my precious child in my arms, I whispered to her ear, " I will never let you down. Mommy and Daddy will do all that we can to help you." All I saw was my child, ready and willing to take on all of life's challenges. Her name is Abigail Joy.

The tests finally came after a week confirming that Abigail had Down syndrome. This diagnosis brought with it multiple heart and lung surgeries in California and Hawaii and the challenges of being far from their home, family, jobs, and support system in Guam for extended periods of time.

The whole time we were in Hawaii, we were blessed to call Tripler Army Fisher House our home. Sharing the house with seven other families and after living at the Fisher House for 22 months with our five children, we have learned and experienced so many great things. Though all the families here are going through different life-threatening issues, in the end we are all the same. Here at home, we are not labeled as an illness or disease, separated by hospital ward, military branch, or rank. We are one family and one support system. We will forever be grateful for the services that the Fisher House foundation continues to provide for military families enduring life-threatening issues.

Not a day goes by when we don't think about the Fisher House in Hawaii and how much impact it has made in our lives and those around us. Our special thanks go to Theresa Johnson (manager) & Anita Clingerman (assistant manager) for their tireless efforts to the families past and present.

Read the entire Mansapit Family Story 

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