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PRESS RELEASE: Tobin James Cellars and customers donate $1500 to The Wounded Heroes Fund

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Created on Monday, December 26, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Claire Silver
Phone: 805-235-9453
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tobin James Executive Chef, Marc LeDuc, suggested that over a busy weekend at the winery and tasting room, donations for complimentary slices of his homemade wood-fired pizzas, could be collected to donate to the Kern County Wounded Heroes Fund (WHF).  Owners Tobin James and Lance and Claire Silver support the WHF through wine donations for their fundraising events.  They thought Chef Marc’s idea was excellent and offered to match the funds to be donated.

Friday, December 16, 2011,  Volunteer Executive Director, Wendy Porter and Three Times Purple Heart US Army Corporal Wesley Leon Barrientos, Mike Porter, and other very dedicated WHF volunteers visited Tobin James Cellars to pick up the donation check and enjoy an afternoon of wine tasting.  Corporal Leon Barrientos returned to Bakersfield a double leg amputee due to an IED explosion in Iraq, December 20, 2007.   Claire Silver was so honored to meet this humble and outstanding veteran:  “We owe so much to those who fight for our freedoms. This young man was so inspirational, so thankful for the support of his community and the Wounded Heroes Fund.  He  found an inner strength and a calling to help other veterans through their difficult physical adjustments.  WHF built him a totally accessible home which he is forever grateful.  He’s paying it forward, raising awareness for veteran organizations by riding cross country to the Vietnam War Memorial on a hand pedalled bike beginning this February.  He is truly amazing.”

Wounded Heroes Fund (WHF) is a community-wide, all volunteer, organization dedicated to providing assistance to brave service men and women returning home from the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. Wendy Porter, the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, realized that more needed to be accomplished, especially for service members and their families to resume life after war.  WHF serves as a vessel for a thankful community — a go-between for people who desperately want to help and veterans who desperately need it.

The cases that come in front of the Board of Directors are as varied as the very veterans that serve our country. From travel expenses, to mortgage help, assistance in moving from military installations, help finding a new home, or help retrofitting a home for wheelchair accessibility. WHF will not turn a case away based simply on its “theme”.   Beyond just monetary assistance, WHF provides a web of connections within the community that can be as valuable, or more so, than any amount of money. WHF has connected veterans with employers, and encouraged doctors to donate their services pro bono.  To learn more about The Wounded Heroes Fund or to make a donation visit  www.thewoundedheroesfund.org or call 661-328-8600.