Reston, VA – The freedom to celebrate is a gift Americans unwrap every single day. For most, the holidays are time of joy, but for surviving military families they can be painful reminder of a loved one who lost their life to defend our country. Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation (Fallen Patriots) honors the sacrifices of servicemembers by providing college scholarships and educational counseling to those they loved most – their children. Through Credit Suisse’s annual Holiday Charity Initiative, $280,000 was raised to benefit Fallen Patriots’ mission to support the college dreams of the nearly 20,000 kids left behind by troops killed in the line of duty over the past 35 years.
“As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, making sure families of fallen soldiers are taken care of is a top priority,” said John Toronto, managing director for Credit Suisse and Fallen Patriots board member. “Over the past three years, Credit Suisse has raised $761,785 in total support, providing 121 years of college education for Fallen Patriots scholars.”
The Holiday Charity Initiative is the annual employee giving campaign for Credit Suisse in the Americas. Corporate citizenship efforts at Credit Suisse are focused around three themes: volunteerism, education and microfinance. The campaign was designed in the spirit of partnership that benefits all parties involved. As well as helping foundations like Fallen Patriots meet their funding goals, it offers Credit Suisse employees the opportunity to learn about, support and be directly involved in the Bank’s philanthropic work and achievements.
Credit Suisse employees volunteered to take part in a back-pack stuffing event to give to scholarship recipients. “These backpacks show our students that Fallen Patriots is there for them in more ways than just financially,” said Emma Wilkenson, scholarship administrator for Fallen Patriots. “We’re here to support them and remind them that their story and their parent’s sacrifice is not forgotten.” The back packs were filled with school supplies and handwritten notes of encouragement from Credit Suisse employees. “As a former Fallen Patriots scholar, I remember getting a backpack as I was about to graduate high school and all I could think was ‘wow these people must really care about me,’” Wilkenson added.
As 63% of surviving spouses report having trouble making ends meet earning less than $50,000 per year, the vision of Fallen Patriots is to extend peace of mind to surviving military families in all 50 states, in all branches of the military. Credit Suisse’s Holiday Charity Initiative will help the growing demands on Fallen Patriots to ensure access to education by college-bound children who have lost a parent in the line of duty.
About Fallen Patriots
Fallen Patriots honors the sacrifices of our fallen military heroes by ensuring the success of their children through college education. Since 2002, Fallen Patriots has provided approximately $26 million in total assistance, including college scholarships and educational counseling to over 1,300 military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. Nearly 20,000 children from across America will need future assistance.
About Credit Suisse
Our strategy is to be a leading wealth manager, with strong investment banking capabilities. We seek to follow a balanced approach to wealth management, aiming to capitalize on both the large pool of wealth within mature markets as well as the significant growth in wealth in Asia Pacific and other emerging markets. Founded in 1856, we today have a global reach with operations in about 50 countries and 46,840 employees from over 170 different nations.
