Air Force spouse raises funds for wounded warriors

  • Published
  • By Ryan Mattox
  • Defense Media Activity-San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO (AFNS) --  When her husband deployed to Iraq in January of 2006, Sonja McDonald decided to spend her time waiting for his return home, raising money to help wounded warriors and their families.

Mrs. McDonald is married to Capt. Jim McDonald, a nurse at San Antonio Military Medical Center-North, formally known as Brooke Army Medical Center. Mrs. McDonald and her husband are working to help make the war-torn lives of those who are in Iraq and Afghanistan and returning from there a little bit better. 

"He was trying to make a difference for them over there, and I wanted to make a difference here and make sure those here were going to get the care they needed here," Mrs. McDonald said.

After hearing about the Center for the Intrepid and two Fisher Houses being built here through her employer, Mrs. McDonald said she called a local Fisher House here to see how she could make a donation.

"I talked to the Fisher House, but at first, (the official there) thought I just wanted to donate a few hundred dollars," Mrs. McDonald said. "I told her no, I wanted to do something bigger. She then passed me to the Fisher House Foundation. So, I went to my employer and asked if I raised $200,000 between Memorial Day and Fourth of July would you match it, and they said yes." 

Fortunately for the Fisher House Foundation and Mrs. McDonald, her employer started her off with $100,000.

With those funds in hand, she jumped into fundraising mode and campaigned in the local area to raise the rest. Mrs. McDonald, a vice-president of marketing at a San Antonio credit union, managed to raise and additional $217,000 in donations for Fisher House in that six-week period of 2006.

"I held luncheons, meetings, called people, went to a Fourth of July parade, and made speeches. I took any opportunity I could get just to get $10," she said.

Also added to her amount was a $200,000 matching donation from her employer. The $517,000 raised was used to complete Fisher Houses 1 and 2 at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

The inspiration behind Mrs. McDonald's efforts was a fellow mother, Becky Ziegel. The mother of a Marine who had been staying at Fort Sam Houston talked to Mrs. McDonald about her experience at the Fisher House.

"I think what sticks in my head when you ask a mom what would you do without the Fisher House is when Becky told me she would have lived in a cardboard box and washed up at the Texaco," Mrs. McDonald said. That grabs at your heart and that's what the Fisher House is trying to prevent. 

"Becky actually helped me with the fundraising," she said. "She went out with me and talked to people."

"I raised money and I did what I had to do, but let's face it, nothing that I did compares to the sacrifices made by those who serve our country and their families. I feel it is our duty to help them," Mrs. McDonald said.

Her efforts in raising the money did go unnoticed by those at the Fisher House. In October, Mrs. McDonald was given a Volunteer Service Award from President Bush in October of 2008.

The Fisher House was founded by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher in 1990. By 2005, the network had grown to 33 homes that provides a place to stay for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and Veterans Administration medical centers.

"I really don't know what the families would do without the Fisher House," said Grace Blancett, a volunteer coordinator at the Fisher House. "I feel for the families dealing with long-term care and the injuries to their loved ones. I am just happy its here." 

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