HANSCOM AFB, Mass.– The Hanscom FCU Charitable Foundation donated $25,000 to help treat the invisible wounds of war. The funds will support Run to Home Base, a major fundraiser for the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program.
“Home Base relies almost entirely on donations and support from philanthropies,” noted Hanscom FCU Chairman of the Board Paul Marotta. “The Run to Home Base is their largest and most visible event, and we are proud to support it.”
Run to Home Base involves some 2,000 runners and walkers completing a course that starts and ends at Fenway Park. The Hanscom FCU Charitable Foundation gave an initial donation of $100,000 in 2014.
Home Base offers outpatient clinical care for veterans and families in New England, as well as clinical and community education and research about post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. One in three veterans is expected to experience PTSD, depression or TBI.
At right, David Sprague, Hanscom FCU President/CEO and Chairman of the Board Paul Marotta present a $25,000 check to the Home Base Program from the Hanscom FCU Charitable Foundation. Michael Allard, Program Chief Operating Officer and Monica Collins, Associate Director of Development for Home Base accepted the donation.
Separately, Hanscom FCU helped celebrate more than 60 Airmen who returned to Hanscom AFB from deployment over the last year. Now in its ninth year, the Heroes Homecoming honors reunited servicemen and their families with a lunch and recognition ceremony, followed by a parade attended by the community.
“We are proud to honor these men and women, and their families,” said Marotta. “They go through so much during a deployment. This is a great opportunity to bring everyone together for some fun and let them know how much we appreciate them.”
The parade had approximately 40 vehicles, from vintage military vehicles to Boston Duck Boats. The Hanscom FCU van, branded with an ice cream truck theme, was part of the procession. At the end of the parade route, Hanscom FCU staff handed out free ice cream.