Dear Friend of Fisher House SoCal:

My name is Terry Geiling. I am the new President of Fisher House Southern California. As you may have recently read, Steve Kuykendall, our founding Fisher House Southern California President, died on January 22 after an 18 month battle with pulmonary fibrosis, a condition the doctors attributed to his tour of duty in Vietnam and his exposure to Agent Orange. Steve, you see, was a Marine Captain who served two tours of duty in Vietnam.

Steve’s service to his country did not end with Vietnam; he also served in the California State Assembly and the US House of Representatives. And, in 2014 he founded Fisher House Southern California, along with several other military veterans, myself included. In so many ways he continued to be our leader, our visionary, our captain.

I am writing to you now because that is what Steve would normally do at this time of the year, to ask you to support our Fisher Houses of Southern California – in Long Beach, Camp Pendleton and San Diego. And to ask you to help us provide a home away from home for the many military families whose soldiers or veterans are in the hospital, either the VA in Long Beach, the Navy Hospital at Camp Pendleton, or one of the two Navy Hospitals in San Diego.

This year, too, I am going to ask you to give to something special – The Steve Kuykendall Memorial Fund for Children, which will go toward a program in our Fisher Houses that was near and dear to his heart. The program supports the children or grandchildren who are staying at our Houses with their families, by providing them with all the educational and recreational tools they might need while they are away from home.

For instance, it could be books, toys, games, puzzles, or computer programs, both for play and education. It could also be baseballs and gloves for a catch in the evening, or food and supplies in the kitchen to cook something special with the family. Or a dinner or a movie out with mom or dad, or grandma or grandpa, which the fund will also provide, along with travel vouchers to get back and forth to the House. Or, if there is a special occasion that occurs while they are away from home, a birthday for instance, the fund will provide a party for that as well.

Each year we house several thousand people at our four Fisher Houses in Southern California. Fifteen percent of those are children. They may stay a few days, or weeks, or even months. By supporting The Steve Kuykendall Memorial Fund for Children, you support the children who stay with us, so their stay at the House can be as much like home as possible. Click here to donate now.

We’re very proud that Steve was featured in a recent article in the Fisher House Patriot magazine, which is published for us by the Fisher House Foundation back in Maryland. They saw fit to honor Steve for his many contributions to Fisher House, both here locally as well as nationally. He was indeed a force for good throughout the Fisher House community, and he will be sorely missed. Your gift in his memory will go a long way to continuing his dedicated vision and his lifelong commitment to serve. Visit this link to read the article.

If you wish to contribute to Steve’s Fund for Children, please click here.

On his behalf, and on behlf of the many families you will be helping, we extend our genuine thanks and appreciation. We are very grateful!

Yours truly,

Terry Geiling
President
Fisher House Southern California