The Marine Raider Foundation is honored to share with our community how your support has impacted Marine Raiders and their families this past year. Thanks to your generosity, the Foundation provided over $500,000 in assistance to the Marine Raider community. We just could not have done this without you! 2020 donations were used to fund our four programs – Raider Support, Family Resiliency, Tragedy Assistance and Survivor Support, and Raider Legacy Preservation. Specifically, donor dollars helped fund:
- 26 Transition Assistance Grants for Marine Raiders to offset out-of-pocket expenses associated with separating from military service and re-entering the civilian sector
- Medical equipment, treatments and travel for 43 wounded, ill and injured Marine Raiders to offset items and services not covered by insurance
- Travel for the families of Staff Sergeant Ellecer “Nate” Cortes-Peck, Major Moises Navas, Gunnery Sergeant Diego Pongo, and Sergeant Wolfgang “Kyle” Weninger to attend commemorative events honoring these MARSOC heroes
- Travel for 20 active-duty Marine Raiders to attend the commemorative events of their fallen comrades
- Medical equipment, treatments and travel for 4 Raider families battling the illness of a spouse or child
- 10 personal, professional and family resiliency events hosted by MARSOC Headquarters, Battalions and Companies
- The engraving of the names of Major Moises Navas, Gunnery Sergeant Diego Pongo and Sergeant Wolfgang “Kyle” Weninger onto the MARSOC Memorial Wall at MARSOC Headquarters and the memorial at Courthouse Bay
- The Marine Raider Association’s Raider Hall Project at Marine Corps Base Quantico Virginia
With 1 ½ months completed for 2021, the Foundation has already provided over $30,000 in support to Marine Raiders and their families. Recent support includes:
- Innovative medical treatments not covered by military health insurance for 2 active-duty Raiders dealing with chronic illness or injuries
- Travel for the families of 4 active-duty Raiders battling chronic illness or injuries
- Medical equipment for 4 active-duty Raiders to enhance their recovery from wounds sustained during combat and training exercises
- Travel support and innovative treatment for a Raider spouse diagnosed with a serious illness
- Funding to support Individual Training Course (ITC) awards and reception
- Funding for a Gold Star Marine Raider spouse to receive innovative medical treatments
- Transition Assistance Grants for 3 Marine Raiders separating from military service
- Funding for the framing of the Raider 7 Portrait displayed at MARSOC Headquarters
If you are looking for ways to get involved and help fund the Foundation’s four mission programs, please consider:
- Registering for the Marine Raider Foundation’s Race to the Base Challenge. There is no cost to sign up, and you can earn some awesome swag through fundraising, including an Under Armour Custom T-Shirt honoring MARSOC’s fallen heroes, Oakley sunglasses, and much more! https://runsignup.com/Race/AZ/Scottsdale/2021MarineRaiderFoundationRacetotheBase
- Supporting Rucking for Raiders as they honor MARSOC’s fallen heroes on their journey from Auburn, Alabama to Navarre, Florida. You can donate and purchase apparel by visiting https://www.facebook.com/rucking4raiders
- Visiting our website and check out our Get Involved and Events pages – https://marineraiderfoundation.org/where you can host an event, donate, learn more about our Ambassador program, and participate in an existing event
- Sharing our social media pages with family and friends
- Reading and sharing our blog – https://marineraiderfoundation.org/blog/
- Viewing the videos on the Foundation’s YouTube channel and sharing with family and friends – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC19SELWck_tbhSQ6FUg1G3g
Thank you for “Helping those who have sacrificed the most.”