CAMP PENDLETON, CA, March 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CAMP PENDLETON, CA (March 19, 2020) – As the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) reaches our military communities, Semper Fi & America’s Fund is responding with immediate, life-essential needs to the service members and families we serve. In just the first three days of this week, the Fund has:
- Purchased $150,000 in gift cards so that service members and their families can have food delivered directly to their homes
- Assisted 220 service members with $120,000 in grants to cover immediate needs
- Projected that total assistance for this week specific to Covid-19 will amount to nearly $400,000 affecting nearly 600 service members and families─ and more support will be needed in the weeks ahead
“Although we find ourselves in uncharted waters, we intend to navigate the coronavirus situation together,” said Semper Fi Fund President, CEO and Founder Karen Guenther. “As a virtual nonprofit, we are well situated to meet the needs and the challenges in front of us. We are on the ground, taking action, ensuring our service members and families know they are not alone.”
The immediate, life-essential needs being provided by the Fund include:
- Financial support to acquire food, supplies and medicine for immediate needs and short-term potential shortages
- Immediate financial assistance for daily costs for service members and/or spouses who are facing unemployment and need an immediate cash infusion
- Financial assistance due to lost income to cover phone bills, rent, mortgage payments and car payments
- Gas cards so family members can help service members and provide support (whether for childcare, physical support for those severely injured or general family support)
- Food and financial assistance for cancer patients and elderly Vietnam veterans who are at higher risk
“I am incredibly proud of our committed staff,” Guenther noted. “We are taking care of ourselves – working remotely from home and, like all families, checking in with one another on a daily basis.
“We are also reaching out and asking new donors to help us care for our wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans who are impacted by the current situation. Our operations – now more important than ever – are continuing thanks to our committed donors who remain at our side.”
One of only two Veteran non-profits to receive an A+ from Charity Watch and named one of the nation’s highest-rated and most transparent charities by Charity Navigator and GuideStar, The Fund provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support for veterans during their time of recovery and transition back into civilian life. Since 2004, The Fund has issued $215 million in assistance to 24,000 service members, with an unprecedented 24-to-72-hour turnaround for funds to be issued after a grant is approved.
About Semper Fi & America’s Fund
Semper Fi & America’s Fund provides urgently needed resources and lifetime support for combat wounded, critically illand catastrophically injured members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Case Managers work one-on-one with service members and veterans to understand and support their individual needs right now and throughout their lifetimes. The Fund keeps its overhead extremely low in order to have the greatest impact on the lives of service members and veterans and has been awarded the highest ratings from watchdog groups: A+ from CharityWatch (one of only two veteran nonprofits to receive this rating last year), nine consecutive 4-star ratings from Charity Navigator (an achievement attained by only 3% of rated charities) and the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar. Learn more at semperfifund.org.