Help Wounded Warriors While Shopping at Homestead Gardens

When injured Marines come back from the battlefield, they are often taken to one of the Navy medical centers. One of those busy centers is a little over an hour away in Bethesda, MD. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center—formerly known as National Naval Hospital, or Bethesda Naval—is where soldiers go for treatment, surgeries, rehabilitation, therapy and more.

The medical treatment and care of these patients is predominately paid for by the military. But when family comes to visit—sometimes for weeks or months at a time—it is the family who foots the bill for hotels, food and necessities.

Gladys Rodriguez. Photo courtesy of Homestead Gardens.

For many of these families, coming to Bethesda from out of town can literally break the bank. And that is where the Injured Marine Fund comes in. This is a group of people who raise money to help those families cover their expenses while they are visiting their loved ones.

Locally, Gladys Rodriguez of Crofton, who is the human resources manager for Homestead Gardens, has worked to help the Injured Marines and the Semper Fi funds. Several years ago, she co-authored a cookbook with recipes from marines, marine wives and marine moms. At $10 a copy, it has sold thousands of copies, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to families of injured Marines.

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund Family Cookbook is available for sale at Homestead Gardens or on Facebook.

To enhance the fundraising, Homestead Gardens is sponsoring a fundraiser on May 5 and 6 at the Davidsonville store, and on May 12 and 13 at the Severna Park location. There will be a raffle, with tickets priced at $5 each or five for $20, for a chance to win gift cards from Homestead Gardens and local restaurants.

The fundraiser hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at both locations and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. You do not have to be present to win. Drawings for both stores will take place on the Monday after the sale of tickets. Notification will be made by telephone.

Of course those who would just like to donate money are welcome to do so, and Homestead will reward you for that by offering a 25 percent discount, good for one regularly priced item (some restrictions apply).

Rodriguez, along with her husband, came to the United States from Cuba (with a stopover in Chile). They feel that there is no better place to live than the United States of America. Those who work with her on the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund say she has boundless energy.

Rodriguez said that the Homestead event is a “great opportunity to support our wounded heroes.”

For additional information or any questions, please contact Gladys Rodriguez at: 443-607-1946 or e-mail her at: grodriguez@homesteadgardens.com.