Friends of Fisher House – Illinois

About Us

Welcome to Illinois' Only "Home Away from Home"
$5.7-million Hines VA Fisher House
Doors Opened to Military Family Guests March 1, 2010


Fisher house

This Handsome 20-Private-Bedroom-Suite "Home Away From Home" On The Grounds Of Hines VA Hospital Is Complete
And Fully Furnished. Fisher House Foundation Will Formally Present It As A Gift To Hines VA Hospital
At A Dedication Ceremony May 28, 2010

Memorable Dedication & Evening Reception Celebrate Long-Awaited
Official Dedication of Hines VA Fisher House

DSCN0063 Patriot Award
  Ken Fisher, Fisher House Foundation Chairman and CEO, presents the organization's Patriot Award to major construction fundraiser for Hines VA Fisher House Sam Lazich, President of DMS Pharmaceutical Group, Inc. at special reception.
DSCN0067_sm Ribbon-Cutting
Fisher House Chairman and CEO Ken Fisher honors major building fundraiser and supporter of Hines VA Fisher House Patriot Award recognizing Operation Support Our Troops – Illinois to President Deb Rickert at evening reception. Long-Awaited Ribbon-Cutting Finally Becomes a Reality at May 28 Hines VA Fisher House Dedication with attendant dignitaries and major supporters in honor of this special event.
Key Presentation Friends of Fisher House
It's Official! Fisher House Foundation President David Coker presents the keys to Hines VA Fisher House to Holly Wright, Hines VA Fisher House Manager. Non-Profit Friends of Fisher House – Illinois Board Director Mary Vaughan (l) and Mark Garry, FOFH-IL Vice President, (r) enjoy cocktail reception sponsored by Fisher House Foundation with Hines VA Fisher House Manager Holly Wright and Glenn Wright.
Friends of Fisher House VFW Posts and Veterans Motorcycle Chapters
Friends of Fisher House – Illinois Board Vice President Harry Theodore (l) chats with Board Director Eddie Jackson at Fisher House Foundation private reception. Representatives and Supporters from VFW Posts and Veterans Motorcycle Chapters From All Parts of Illinois Joined in on the Festivities.

START YOUR PRIVATE TOUR OF THE REMARKABLE HINES VA FISHER HOUSE HERE

DSCN0016sm
As in all 44 Fisher Houses, these busts of Fisher House Foundation founders, Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher,
watch over the “home away from home” they provided for military families facing medical crises.
DSCN0009sm Library provides a quiet setting for reflection, conversation, reading, working on puzzles and playing games. DSCN0008sm Community Dining Room is decorated with upholstered chairs, paintings and coordinating floral arrangements.
DSCN0048sm Dream Community Kitchen features three restaurant-sized refrigerators, two restaurant-sized freezers, granite counters, two double ovens, two microwaves, two massive sinks. Counter cabinets are coded with suite numbers for dried and canned good storage. DSCN0036sm Elevator Is Just One Of All Features Making Hines VA Fisher House Wheel- Chair Accessible. DSCN0049sm Community Laundry Room is wheel-chair accessible so recovering wounded can adjust to doing household chores in wheel chairs.
DSCN0038smDSCN0024sm 20 Private Bedroom Suites With Baths come in single queen-sized or
double twin-sized beds. Each is furnished with desk, radio/alarm clock,
computer equipment, dresser, armchairs, television, closet with
hangers, ironing board, laundry hamper and luggage rack.
DSCN0027sm Private Bathrooms With All Suites feature wheel-chair accessible showers.
DSCN0002sm Beautifully Appointed Family Room features All the Comforts of a “Home Away from Home” including a wide-screen television. DSCN0050sm Beautiful Electricity-Supplied Gazebo will be scene of many outdoors activities.  

How Funds Were Raised For The First Illinois Fisher House

Illinois citizens supported a two-year, Illinois fundraising campaign sponsored and spearheaded by DMS Pharmaceutical Group, Inc. of Park Ridge, IL to raise the majority of the $1.75 million necessary to be matched by the Fisher House Foundation for construction of a $5.7 million Fisher House on Hines VA Hospital grounds.

2008-09 Audit | 2009-Form 990

Why Friends of Fisher House - Illinois Support Is Crucial

Following the local, grass-roots drive to raise funds for construction, it became apparent that further fundraising efforts are vital to support year-round operations of this Hines VA "home away from home" for military families when it opened March 1, 2010.

The humanitarian need fulfilled by the Fisher House program is not one provided by the
Departments of Defense or Veterans Administration.

Once the 20-private-bedroom-suite Hines Fisher House is constructed in fall 2009, the Fisher House Foundation will present it as a gift to Hines VA. From that point on, funding staffing, operations and maintenance becomes the full responsibility of Hines VA.

Hines administration has indicated the strong need for support to ensure that year-round lodging and other services are provided free of charge to veterans and their families.

Hines is designated by the VA as a VA national polytrauma site. In this capacity, the medical facility is treating younger veterans returning from Iraq with multiple trauma injuries like traumatic brain injuries.  This requires more patients traveling longer distances.  These complicated injuries require longer hospital stays, which will make the Fisher House for Hines that much more important.

Both the Hines Spinal Cord Injury and Blind Rehabilitation Center programs minister to almost 900 Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom veterans with long stays.

These two Centers, alone, draw patients from a total of 17 states: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming plus parts of Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

In addition, Hines VA Hospital continues to service the medical needs of 300,000 Illinois veterans with 536,600 outpatient visits a year. Many of them travel long distances within Illinois for out-patient treatment and cannot afford overnight lodging at motels. These veterans will also qualify for free lodging at the Hines Fisher House.

Hines VA Fisher House Military Family Guest Service Report

Number of Military Families Served by Hines VA Fisher House Since March 10, 2010: 1,350

Fisher House Guests' Hometown Roster Totals:
236 Municipalities
28 States
3 Foreign Countries

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION:

Illinois (78 Municipalities)
Allandale
Belmont
Chicago
Belvidere
Bourbannais
Bradley
Braidwood
Breeze
Brighton
Brownstown
Carbondale
Carlinville
Charleston
Chebanse
Chicago
Clayton
Coal City
Crest Hill
Danville
Dwight
East Moline
Elgin
Effingham
Gardner
Genoa
Germantown
Gibson City
Gilman
Grafton
Granite City
Hamilton
Harrisburg
Harvard
Havana
Hoffman Estates
Jacksonville
Joliet
Kankakee
Lansing
LaSalle
Macomb
Madison
Marion
Mattoon
Mendota
Metropolis
Moline
Monmouth
Morris
Morton
Mount Vernon
Newton
Normal

North Chicago
Olney
Ottawa
Paris
Pekin
Peoria
Peru
Pontiac
Quincy
Rantoul
Rock Falls
Rockford
Rock Island
Springfield
Sterling
Streator
Tinley Park
Urbana
Washington
Watseka
Waukegan
Wheeling
Wilmington
Woodstock
Yorkville
Zion
Indiana (40)
Anderson
Angola
Attica
Aurora
Bedford
Beach Grove
Bloomington
Bluffton
Carmel
Charlestown
Clinton
Columbia City
Columbus
Connersville
Crawfordsville
Crown Point
Decatur
East Chicago
Elkhart
Evansville
Fort Wayne
Frankfort
Franklin
Gary
Hammond
Highland
Indianapolis
Jeffersonville
Kokomo
Lafayette
Madison
Marion
Martinsville
Michigan City
Muncie
New Albany
Richmond
Russiaville
South Bend
Valparaiso
Michigan (25)
Adrian
Albion
Battle Creek
Bay City
Birmingham
Centerline
Dearborn
Detroit
East Lansing
Ferndale
Flint
Grand Rapids
Hamtramck
Kalamazoo
Lansing
Madison Heights

Marquette
New Haven
Norton Shores
Petersburg
Riverview
Saline
Southfield
Trenton
Vernon
Wisconsin (12)
Appleton
Beaver Dam
Cedarburg
Delavan
Glendale
Kenosha
Milwaukee
Mineral Point
Oshkosh
Plymouth
Sun Prairie
Waukesha
Florida (7)
Fort Myers
Gainesville
Hallandale
Lakeland
Marathon
Sanford
Tampa

 


California (7)
Antioch
Bell Gardens
Corte Madera
Garden Grove
La Crescenta
Norwalk
San Rafael

Iowa (7)
Ames
Cedar Rapids
Dubuque
Grinnell
Keokuk
Nevada
Waterloo

Minnesota (6)
Anoka
Bloomington
Edina   
Mankato Plainview Stillwater
Texas (6)
Austin
Beaumont
Fort Worth
Kerrville Palestine Sherman
Missouri (6)
Ashland
Fairmount
Kirkwood
Moberly Pleasant Hill Union
Tennessee (5)
Bristol
Dyersburg
Lawrenceburg
Oak Ridge Shelbyville
North Carolina (5)
Durham
Fayetteville
Jacksonville
Raleigh Wilkesboro
Ohio (5)
Cincinnati
Dayton
Kenton
Marietta Tallmadge
South
Carolina (3)
New
York (3)
Colorado (3) Kentucky (3) South
Dakota (2)
Virginia (2)
Charleston
Mount Pleasant
Rock Hill
Corning
Plattsburgh
Rochester
Colorado Springs
Gunnison
Wheat Ridge
Bowling Green
Lexington
Valley Station
Gregory
Watertown
Hampton
Lynchburg
Arkansas (1) Georgia (1) Louisiana (1) Maryland (1) Nebraska (1) Oklahoma (1)
Little Rock Hineville Harvey Germantown Omaha Oklahoma City
Pennsylvania (1) West
Virginia (1)
Dominican
Republic (1)
Mexico (1) Puerto Rico (1)
Canonsburg Elkins Bonao Mexico City Caguas

Save The Dates!

MARK YOUR
CALENDARS TODAY!

Join us on June 7, 2012
for the 2012 U.S. Secret Service, Chicago Field Office
Charity Golf Outing to Benefit
FOFH-IL & the 100 Club of Chicago


SAVE THIS DATE NOW!

September 13, 2012
We Invite You to Support the 3rd Annual White Sox Benefit

proud_supporter

Over 1,300 Military Families Have Stayed
Free of Charge

at This "Home Away
from Home" Since
March 1, 2010