The Fisher House Foundation partners with Goldfish crackers

If you’re a military family that frequents a base exchange, you may have noticed special military-inspired packages of Goldfish crackers on store shelves. Pepperidge Farm, the company behind the Goldfish brand released limited-edition Goldfish packages to coincide with their $25,000 donation to the Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

Military GoldfishThe Fisher House Foundation is an organization that I’ve grown familiar with as a service member. Their purpose is simple: “Providing a ‘home away from home’ for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.”

I first learned about Fisher House several years ago when I saw a billboard on the side of a Florida freeway, advertising a Fisher House being built in a nearby city. I looked it up online later that day. They have more than 60 houses currently operating and have served almost 200,000 families since their beginnings in 1990. In 2012 alone, almost 20,000 families stayed in a Fisher House to be near their sick or wounded loved one. England even opened their very first Fisher House yesterday! 

The foundation has recognized almost 25 locations that need a Fisher House, whether it be the first, a replacement, or an additional house. But the houses aren’t the only Fisher House Foundation program. Hero Miles, Hotels for Heroes, and scholarship programs also address the needs of wounded or ill service members and their families. Pepperidge Farm’s donation will be used for one of the scholarship programs, to help military families pay for their children’s college expenses.

Although donations from companies like Pepperidge Farm are vital to the Fisher House Foundation, everyone including me and you can help in some capacity. For the last two years, my brother, an Army JAG Corps officer, has run marathons to raise money for The Fisher House Foundation. Not a runner? Do you golf? Ride a motorcycle? Like music? Attend auctions? If this is something that interests you, please click HERE to visit the foundation’s “Events” page.

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