Comfort of Home Baskets
Melwood Prince George's County Open
By: Carolyn Herman

During this year's Melwood Prince George's County Open, the Nationwide Tour Wives Association had its first opportunity to give back to the military. The Fisher House at Andrews Air Force Base was the recipient of our Comforts of Home Baskets program. Fisher House is a nationwide program that provides a "home away from home" for families of the military who are receiving treatment for an illness, injury or disease. The families spend many days, weeks, or even months at a Fisher House location. The tournament sponsor, Melwood, and the Tournament Director, Teo Sodeman, were crucial to our support of the Fisher House. This program was designed to provide baskets filled with fun and comforting items to each room at the Fisher House. The focus was to impact the wives and children of our heroes who may be living far from home during stressful and confusing situations.

Seven baskets were filled by the players and their wives. Both monetary and item donations were received during tournaments leading up to the Melwood Prince George’s County Open. On Tuesday, June 1, the wives met in the clubhouse to fill and decorate the seven baskets to be delivered the following day. The NTWA was fortunate enough to receive an abundance of donated items, allowing the Fisher House several "extras" for basket refills. The tournament volunteers even pitched in by donating items for the baskets. It was wonderful to see so many different contributors of this event supporting our military!

Delivery day was Wednesday, June 2. The Nationwide wives and children, our seven baskets, gift cards, and athletic wear traveled to Andrews Air Force Base for a social event and presentation at the Fisher House. Fisher House manager, Janet Grampp, and her staff of volunteers greeted us, along with some active military personnel, families in residence at the Fisher House, retired military volunteers, and Red Cross volunteers. It was a wonderful lunch, completely donated by a local Italian favorite, Mamma Stellas. We enjoyed sharing stories, laughs, and hugs with everyone in attendance.

After lunch, our group was treated to a tour of the Fisher House facility. Just paces from the on-base Hospital, the Fisher House provides much more of a relaxing and personal environment than one would find at the local hotel. A few residents even formed a bond the day we visited - one older, one younger, both alone. With gardens, a gazebo and a children's playground, you could hardly tell where you were. The visit ended with our presentation of the baskets, clothing, gift cards and a few surprises. CDW was kind enough to donate a brand new desktop computer to the Fisher House. Foot Joy donated 12 dozen socks. A check was also presented to the Fisher House from the Nationwide Tour Wives Association. The program was a huge success and we are proud to support the Fisher House. Thank you to everyone for their donations and their time in the support of such a great cause!