Down East Detachment Marine Corps League

January 11, 201 ~ we just set up lodging for an active duty baby in the neo-natal unit at Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

December 29, 2011 ~ we just set up lodging for the family of a critically ill service member’s wife.  The illness was unexpected, husband and baby are sleeping in the hospital room, family is flying in tomorrow.

December 21, 2011 ~ we just set up 3 nights of lodging for an active duty family with a baby in the hospital, they want to spend time with their baby and family Christmas Eve and Christmas day (at the hospital) without having to drive back and forth to the base - the baby has been admitted for some time.

December 19, 2011 ~ Busy week - 4 nights of lodging set up for an active family with a baby in the neo-natal unit…..

December 17, 2011 ~ We just set up 4 nights of lodging for an active family with a baby in the hospital.

PotashCorp supports Home Fund!

PotashCorp has again made a generous donation to the Home Away from Home Program.  The effort IS successful because of support from the local community and businesses such as PotashCorp here in Eastern NC.

We’ve donated more than 300 nights of lodging for families with babies in the neonatal unit and families with service members in the hospital.  This is a 100% local effort, we have no administrative costs.

Thank you to PotashCorp and all of our partners, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Home-Towne Suites, Candlewood Suites, St. James, Rotary. 

Jason Lowry

Chair, Home Fund

Interesting stats for 2011

124 nights donated for 40 families

Hotels used: Home-Towne Suites 17, Candlewood 22, Baymont 1

Families with babies in the neo-natal unit 28

Families with and active duty member in the hospital 11

Air Force families 7, Marine Corps 32, Coast Guard 1

Total Cost $8017.13 (last year $6725.71)

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• 339 nights of lodging donated to date.
  

What we do: Every year, dozens of active duty service members are transferred to Pitt County Memorial Hospital to be treated for life threatening injuries.  Many of the family members of these service members travel hundreds of miles to be with their loved one and are unfamiliar with Eastern North Carolina.

Our mission is to provide some comfort and stability during this difficult time by providing a shoulder to lean on and in some cases financial assistance.  Our vision is to provide a “Home Away from Home”

Why are we doing this?  Our effort began in early 2005.  Detachment members became aware of a vehicle accident involving active duty Marine Chad Chambliss.  Detachment members quickly responded by immediately collecting donations for the family. This effort enabled Detachment members to provide a hotel room, rental car and other miscellaneous needs for Chad’s father.

We quickly realized that Chad was not an isolated case. Dozens of active duty personnel are transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital each year due to serious injuries.

As an example, one of our efforts involved a young Navy Corpsman who was involved in a severe car accident. He was severely injured while riding in the back seat of a car, seat belt fastened, when a deer caused the driver of the vehicle to lose control. The Navy Corpsman was air lifted to PCMH due to the severity of his injuries and remained in critical condition for several days. Detachment members provided 3 days of lodging accommodations for the family.  The injured Navy Corpsman served two tours in Iraq and was likely to return for his 3rd tour in the near future.

How it works:  We are usually notified by Pitt County Memorial Hospital staff, Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital or Cherry Point Naval Hospital when an injured active duty member is transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital.  

Detachment members work hard to make contact with the family member(s) of injured military personnel to offer our support. We are prepared to provide lodging and other financial assistance when needed.  Most importantly, we let the family know that they are not alone and that they have an extended family in Eastern North Carolina.

Jason Lowry (Chairman)

From the families we’ve helped:

Dear Home Away From Home,

My name is Staff Sergeant George Willis (USMC) and I want to say thank you for your help during a time of need. It truly was a door opened by God.  There has been a lot going on with our family during this time of year.  First off I was on emergency leave in Washington State when my oldest daughter was taken by helicopter to Greenville, NC.  My wife was freaking out as was I.  We also had to worry about our two younger children.  Well I finally made it back home safely and am very thankful for the room you set aside for us to rest in.  I was able to care for our younger two children while my wife and I took turns at the hospital.  My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  She is now stable and we will all be home soon!  Once again thank you! 

~~~

“On behalf of my husband Joe Dixon and myself, we can not thank you and the Marines enough for your assistance on our recent stay in North Carolina. If it were not for the hotel stay it would have been an extra extreme financial burden on us. We had to borrow money just to make the trip.

Joey is doing fine. He is at home now with his mother and grandparents. He will begin physical therapy today at Giesenger Hospital here in Wilkes Barre. He is expected to recover 100% Again we thank you from the bottom of our hearts May God bless you and all your staff and your continued efforts in assisting other families in there time of need.”

Sincerely

Angi & Joe Dixon

~~~

My husband and I would like to say thank you for your Home Away From Home program. Our son was born on March 24, 2011 with the cord wrapped around his neck twice. He was not breathing and was quickly rushed from Carolina East in New Bern to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville. My husband and I were extremely overwhelmed as I had a perfect pregnancy with no signs of complications. Once I was released from the hospital I immediately traveled to Greenville to be with my husband and son. We had no idea how long we were going to be there or where we going to stay, but we knew we wanted to be with our son. The wonderful hospital staff recognized that my husband was a Marine and told us about your program. They made all of the necessary arrangements and all we had to do was check into a hotel at the end of the night. It was such a relief to not have to worry about where we going to stay at night and be able to focus on our son. After a week in the NICU we are finally home and our son is adjusting well. We cannot thank you enough for your wonderful program and help in making sure we could focus on our son during the first few days of his life. 

Kelsey Vawter