Summer at the
Charleston Fisher House
8
Years open
9,303
Families served
$5.76M
Saved by families
Mark Your Calendar
What's Ahead
Also Coming Up
Jan
2027
Fisher House Open House
Date to be announced
Around the Table
Summer in the Kitchen
Seven groups cooked for the House this summer, some for the first time and several for the second or third. Every one of them left veteran families with a hot dinner and one less thing to think about.
Harleston Village Association Serves Fajita Night at the Fisher House
The Harleston Village Association’s Heart & Hands Committee opened the season with fajita night: chicken and beef fajitas, Mexican rice, a corn and avocado salad, and pudding with fruit. Some of the committee’s youngest members helped in the kitchen, making it the association’s second dinner at the House this year.
Cuisine Rescue Returns with Another Delivery for Fisher House Families
Cuisine Rescue pulled up again in late June with chicken, rice, mandarin oranges, bread, and cheesecake gathered from local restaurants. It was their second delivery of the year, and one more time food headed for the trash became meals for families staying close to a loved one in care.
The Anderson Bookclub Cooks a Pasta Dinner for Fisher House Families
The Anderson Bookclub traded a night of discussion for a night at the stove, cooking a homemade pasta dinner for the families in residence. For guests keeping long hospital hours, a warm plate waiting at the House is a reminder that the community is with them.
RJ’s Mission, AFA Charleston, and Warriors Haven Host a Fisher House Cookout
RJ’s Mission Foundation, Air & Space Forces Association Charleston, and Warriors Haven SC joined forces for a summer cookout of burgers and hot dogs with all the fixings. The evening even paused for a round of “Happy Birthday” for one resident’s wife, a small celebration in the middle of a hard season.
Grace Church Cathedral Volunteers Return to the Fisher House Kitchen
The Grace Church Cathedral team returned in August with a hot casserole dinner and a simple message: they love cooking for the Fisher House. Their repeat visits are part of what makes the House feel like a home instead of a place to stay.
Freedom Church Returns to the Fisher House with a Sloppy Joe Dinner
Freedom Church fed the House twice this summer, first with a Meal Train lunch of sandwiches and snacks in July, then with sloppy joes and baked potatoes in August. Four volunteers in red “Freedom Gives” shirts lined the island with buns and plates for whoever came down the hall hungry.
The Daniel Island Exchange Club Serves Dinner at the Fisher House
The Daniel Island Exchange Club, the same group that plants 1,000 flags for the Field of Honor each June, closed out the summer meal calendar with chicken, roasted vegetables, and dessert cooked and served in the House kitchen.
“It is an honor to come and cook a home cooked meal for those that have served.”
Partners
Gifts & Good Work
Some of the summer’s biggest contributions came from partners who give in other ways: a national check presentation on the front steps, grounds kept sharp all season, and a clear explanation of who actually does what at the House.
Coors Banquet and Lee Distributors Bring a $5,000 Gift to the Charleston Fisher House
The Molson Coors team, led by David Coors, stopped in Charleston on a national tour to present a $5,000 gift through Banquets for the Brave, Coors Banquet’s partnership with the Fisher House Foundation. Lee Distributors, who had volunteered at the House earlier, came back to help hand over the check.
Who Does What: The Partnership Behind the Charleston Fisher House
If the VA owns the House, why does it still need the community? We answered the question that comes up on nearly every tour: the Foundation built it, the VA runs it, and Friends of Fisher House Charleston covers what government support does not, from groceries and hosted meals to hotel stays when all sixteen suites are full.
Carolina Services Keeps the Fisher House Grounds Looking Their Best
The first thing a family sees is the walkway in. The Carolina Services Grounds Division keeps the beds, the stacked-stone wall, and the pergola looking their best year-round, and quietly does a good bit more than the job calls for. Their work is the photo at the top of this page.
Board Member Spotlight
Dr. James Elsey, Treasurer
Each edition we introduce one of the volunteers who govern Friends of Fisher House Charleston. This summer, our treasurer.
Meet Dr. James Elsey, Our Treasurer
A vascular surgeon with a 30-plus-year career in Atlanta, Dr. Elsey served alongside it as a reserve officer in a U.S. Army MASH unit and later sat on the Board of Directors of the American College of Surgeons. He carried the torch ahead of the 1996 Olympic Games. Now settled in Charleston, he brings that same precision to stewarding the House’s finances as treasurer.
Reflection
Flags & Founders
Two moments this summer asked us to look up from the day-to-day: the nation’s 250th birthday, and the story of the couple whose bronze likenesses greet every family at the foot of our staircase.
Celebrating America's 250th at the Charleston Fisher House
On the Fourth of July the front steps wore bunting and flags for America’s 250th, including a Fisher House garden flag made for the milestone. It was a day to honor those who have served and the families who continue to sacrifice alongside them.
Builder, Philanthropist, Patriot: The Story of Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher
Zachary Fisher tried to enlist in World War II and was turned away. He spent the next fifty years answering anyway, from saving the USS Intrepid to building the first Fisher House at Bethesda in 1991 with his wife Elizabeth. Their story ends at the staircase on Wentworth Street.
“I'm a builder, I have my own architect, we can do this.”
On the Calendar
The Freedom Ride
Rain pushed the second annual Fisher House Freedom Ride from August 29 to Saturday, October 10. Nothing else changes.
The Fisher House Freedom Ride Is Rescheduled for October 10
Registration opens at 10:00 AM at Low Country Harley-Davidson, kickstands go up at noon, and the police-escorted route ends at Over the Horizon Brewing for an after-party from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Twenty dollars per rider, five per passenger, every dollar to the House.
Join us aboard the Yorktown on November 11.
The Charleston Symphony and Charleston Men's Chorus take the flight deck at Patriots Point for the Symphony of Service, a free concert supporting veteran families at the Charleston Fisher House.