Coast Guard Foundation Establishes New Fund

Ross E. Roeder Shipmate Fund Improves Morale and Welfare for Active Duty Coast Guard Members.

 

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced the launch of the Ross E. Roeder Shipmate Fund. Established to benefit the morale, education and wellness of Coast Guard units and their families in Northern Michigan, the fund also thanks and honors the Foundation’s retiring board chairman, Ross E. Roeder. Chairman of the Board for the Coast Guard Foundation since 2005, Mr. Roeder retired at the end of 2011.
 

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the staff of the Coast Guard Foundation, and his many friends, I am very pleased to present Ross Roeder with a recognition gift that will honor both his service as Chairman of the Foundation and serve an area of the country that is near and dear to him and his family," announced Robert J. Flynn, incoming Coast Guard Foundation Chairman.
 

"We know that Ross and his wife Mary Anne have a deep affection for Northern Michigan, where they spend summers, and frequently host picnics for the personnel who are based at the nearby Cheboygan base," Flynn continued. "We wanted to start this fund that would bear Ross’ name to provide ongoing support each year for Shipmate Fund projects benefitting personnel who are stationed in this area of the country. We hope, too, that this will inspire morale funds in other parts of the country in the years ahead."
 

The Coast Guard Foundation Shipmate Fund provides education, wellness and recreation geared to Coast Guard units around the country, based on need and requests from local units in the field. Typical awards include e-learning centers; workout equipment such as treadmills, exercise bikes and elliptical machines; as well as foreign language learning material, bicycles and playground equipment for families. The first-ever specific Shipmate Fund will provide for Coast Guard units in Northern Michigan, including units located in Sault Ste. Marie, Traverse City and Charlevoix, for years to come. In the past, the Foundation has supported this region with computer stations that provided for distance learning while underway on long deployments, as well as for fitness equipment and recreational gear for crews stationed in Charlevoix and Frankfort, Michigan.

For more than 40 years, the Coast Guard Foundation has inspired leadership, learning and a proud legacy of service to our nation by supporting the men of women of the United States Coast Guard and their families. Education is a key objective to fulfilling this mission; the Foundation’s scholarship program has provided hundreds of higher education grants to enlisted personnel, reservist and their children. To support families who make the ultimate sacrifice, the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund was established to offer higher education financial support for families of Coast Guard members lost in the line of duty. In addition, the organization offers financial relief to Coast Guard families who have lost possessions in natural disasters and provides support for numerous morale and wellness boosting endeavors including funding recreation, exercise and family-oriented facilities.
For more information on the Ross E. Roeder Shipmate Fund, the Coast Guard Foundation or to help support its work, please visit www.coastguardfoundation.org.