august o'niell

Since 1990, Fisher Houses have saved more than 455,000 military and veteran families over $575 million.

Hotels for Heroes, which uses donated hotel points, and Hero Miles, which uses donated frequent flier miles to purchase airline tickets, have saved nearly $121 million for military and veteran families since inception.

Jim Graham was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2017, nearly 50 years after he served as a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam. Fortunately, doctors caught his cancer in the early stages.

Jim saw doctors every three months and had his lymph gland surgically removed. Now he schedules a checkup once every six months. Since he and his wife, Susan Dyer, live in Mexico, they travel from their home to San Diego, California, where he receives treatment at the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

While there, they stay at the Camp Pendleton Fisher House, but when the Fisher House is fully booked, they participate in Fisher House Foundation’s Hotels for Heroes program. The program allows them to stay in a comfortable hotel near Jim's treatment facility until a room opens at the Fisher House.

“[The Hotels for Heroes program] has been a real lifesaver for us.”

—SUSAN DYER

Houses under construction:

C.W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center—Bay Pines, Florida (second house)

Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital—Columbia, Missouri

Houses in design:

Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center—Atlanta, Georgia

Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center—North Chicago, Illinois

John D. Dingell VA Medical Center—Detroit, Michigan

Hospital de Veteranos (VA Caribbean Healthcare System)—San Juan, Puerto Rico

Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center— Memphis, Tennessee

Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital (second house)—San Antonio, Texas 8

Fisher House Foundation awarded over $2.4 million in scholarships in 2022, helping more than 1,200 students achieve their educational goals.

Mikaela Miles has always wanted to fly, and now she flies every day. She starts her days early, but she says that once she is in the air and sees the sunrise, she knows it’s all worth it.

As a freshman at one of the top universities for pilots, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, Mikaela is pursuing a degree in aeronautical science. She hopes to serve in the Air Force upon graduation.

Mikaela and her older sister, Ariana, grew up near San Diego, California with her mom, Shirl, and her dad, retired Marine Tommie Miles. Her sister is going into a medical field like her mom, who is a nurse manager. Tommy retired from the military in 2000, but his service is still impacting his family through Fisher House Foundation’s Scholarships for Military Children.

“The scholarship really did mean a lot to me because, at first, we weren’t even sure if I was going to be able to go to the school because it is pretty expensive. This was another step to my goals.”

—MIKAELA MILES