News Column

Business Owner Donates $50,000 to San Antonio Veterans Center

Feb 6, 2013

Brooke West

A local business owner "felt called to do something," so he did it, and ultimately offered up a $50,000 check to a support center for wounded veterans in San Antonio.

Mitchell Morehead, owner of Acme Glass, and more recently the founder of Brazos Charities, said he was struck about a year ago with the idea to give to a worthy cause.

He reached out to some friends, he said, and managed to plant the nonprofit in about 90 days -- a task that usually takes about two years.

"It was something that I felt like I wanted to do," Morehead said. "It came together."

In November, Brazos Charities and the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation hosted two events at the library, with proceeds benefiting the Warrior Family and Support Center at the Center for the Intrepid at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

On Nov. 14, Major General John S. Cowings came to the George Bush Library to discuss the roles of minorities and ethnic groups in U.S. Military history, and two days later Brazos Charities hosted Marcus Luttrell, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and New York Times best-selling author for a private reception and dinner.

The two events raised a total of $50,000 for the Warrior and Family Support Center.

"It was very rewarding and I am very thankful to the community that they were able to support our cause," Morehead said.

Brazos Charities' next big gift will take place in 2014, Morehead said.

Each year, a steering committee will select different organizations to award, he said.

Judith Markelz, director of the Warrior and Family Support Center, said the gift is an enormous help to the organization, which functions solely off donations.

Markelz said the center was founded in 2003 at the request of therapists and physicians at the Brooke Army Medical Center, who were concerned that the wounded veterans needed a network of support to fight off depression and promote healthy and happy living.

"They need to interact with the community and the families need somebody to help them. It's nice to have a friend," Markelz said. "We make a lot of friends here."

Markelz said the money will help pay for activities at the center and will send any veteran's child to a summer camp if they elect to go.

"These people are amazing," she said, referring to Brazos Charities. "What an incredible thing out of nowhere. Yet, people come together because they understand the obligation to help."

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Distributed by MCT Information Services



Source: (c) 2013 The Eagle (Bryan, Texas)


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