PRESS RELEASE: Fujifilm SeeHere.com Expands Support Of Homes For Our Troops And Involves Students For Kids For Our Troops Fundraising
Employees Of Fujifilm’s Greenwood, SC Manufacturing Plant Volunteer For Homes For Our Troops Build Brigade In Lake Keowee, SC
VALHALLA, N.Y., February 2, 2010 – Fujifilm SeeHere.com, in conjunction with its continued sponsorship of Homes For Our Troops, has rallied employees of the Greenwood, SC FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. plant to participate in the three-day Build Brigade to begin construction of a specially-adapted home in Seneca, SC in the Lake Keowee region for injured Marine Chief Warrant Officer-3 Jeffrey Pcola. Marine CWO3 Pcola suffered spinal and internal injuries and a broken neck while commanding 24-hour reconnaissance operations in Iraq. Homes For Our Troops and its team of volunteers will break ground on CWO3 Pcola’s new home on February 4, 2011.
Fujifilm employees have volunteered for the Build Brigade, and Fujifilm will provide food and beverages for all volunteers pitching in throughout the three-day project. Fujifilm will also present a donation of $21,570 to Homes For Our Troops at the Build Brigade kick-off ceremony, which is in addition to more than $125,000 the company has already donated. The new donation comes as result of Fujifilm’s digital camera “Military Appreciation Bundle” sold at various military bases across the country over the past year.
With the upcoming home build, Fujifilm SeeHere.com also continues its fundraising and photojournalism project to support Kids For Our Troops – a program that encourages teens, ages 13-16, to participate in community service. One Lake Keowee area students was selected to participate in the SeeHere.com Kids For Our Troops program in which she will document the building of CWO3 Pcola’s home and create a fundraising campaign. SeeHere.com provided the selected student with the tools to help develop and execute a campaign for Homes For Our Troops and compete for a $5,000 prize. Program details can be found here.
About Fujifilm
Fujifilm SeeHere.com photo printing, sharing, storage and gifting website is unlike other photo sites, offering unmatched freedom of expression and creativity for designing photo products and sharing images. SeeHere.com is a corporate sponsor of Homes for Our Troops, a non-profit organization that builds specially-adapted homes for severely injured veterans.
FUJIFILM North America Corporation, a marketing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, consists of five operating divisions and one subsidiary company. The Imaging Division sells consumer and commercial photographic products and services including film, one-time-use cameras, online photo services and fulfillment, digital printing equipment and service. The Electronic Imaging Division markets consumer digital cameras. The Motion Picture Division provides motion picture film, and the Graphic Systems Division supplies products and services to the printing industry. The Optical Devices Division provides binoculars, and optical lenses for closed circuit television, videography, cinematography, broadcast and industrial markets. FUJIFILM Canada Inc. markets a range of Fujifilm products and services. For more information, please visit www.fujifilm.com/northamerica, or go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, digital printing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials, and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 20 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2009, and in the year ended March 31, 2010, had global revenues of $23.5 billion*. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.
About Homes for Our Troops
Homes for Our Troops is a national non-profit 501(c) 3 organization based in Taunton, MA, and founded by John Gonsalves in 2004 to benefit severely injured Veterans and service members.
The Homes for Our Troops mission is to provide free of charge, specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans who have suffered life-altering injuries in the combat theatre since September 11, 2001; and is made possible with support from professional trades people, community minded volunteers, generous individuals, foundations and corporate contributors like Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, Mastic Home Exteriors, DaVinci Roofscapes, Fypon Inc, Hy-Lite/US Glass Block, Phil Mickelson’s Birdies for the Brave, PGA Tour Charities, Singer/Songwriter Billy Joel, the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation and SeeHere.com – Fujifilm’s online photo printing, sharing, storage and gifting website.
The organization has completed over 55 specially adapted home building projects and typically has 30 homes in various stages of construction throughout the United States each year. It takes approximately six months to complete a home once ground has been broken to the presentation of the keys to the veteran. The average cost of each home is about $330,000 depending upon location.
An eligible Veteran or service member may receive a Veterans Administration Specially Adapted Housing Grant up to a maximum amount of $63,780. Homes for Our Troops’ assistance covers all costs over and above this grant and works closely with the VA to ensure that when our resources are combined, the home is provided at no cost to the recipient.
Homes for Our Troops is proud to be listed in the American Institute of Philanthropy’s top rated Veterans & Military Charities where it enjoys an A rating. It has received a Four Star Rating from Charity Navigator and is a proud member of the NAHB and the US Green Building Council.
* At an exchange rate of 93 yen to the dollar.
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(First posted on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 11:35 EST)