Supporting Our Shipmates

Written by: CDR Glynn Smith

For over 40 years, the non-profit Coast Guard Foundation has been supporting Coast Guard men and women with its generosity and sponsorship. Its good-will has never been more evident than today.

“There is so much energy right now among Foundation supporters,” said Vice Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara, vice commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, who recently attended the Foundation’s Annual Board of Trustees Meeting in New London, CT. “It is truly inspiring.”

Vice Adm. Brice O’Hara is the Coast Guard’s principle liaison to the Coast Guard Foundation; in this capacity she helps ensure that the Foundation’s donations and support are applied to programs that best benefit the Coast Guard’s people.

“It’s not a difficult task,” said Brice-O’Hara, adding, “The Foundation has always been interested in programs that enhance the well being and quality of life of our people and their families.”

Originally created in 1969 as the Coast Guard Academy Foundation, the organization later widened its interest and impact to the entire Coast Guard, changing its name in 1986 to the Coast Guard Foundation. Since then, the Foundation has donated millions of dollars through scholarships, recreational and educational construction initiatives, and other award, recognition, and gift programs.

Recently, the Foundation gifted $200,000 to the Coast Guard Foundation Shipmate Fund, a campaign which targets individual Coast Guard units around the country. Immensely popular among Coast Guard personnel, the Foundation Shipmate Fund augments morale, recreational and health-promotion activities at Coast Guard stations, aboard ships, and at larger installations. Many Coast Guard units receive exercise gear from the Shipmate Fund. For small, outlying Coast Guard units especially, the gifts make a huge splash in the crew’s morale.

“For many young Coast Guard men and women, the Coast Guard Foundation Shipmate Fund is their first encounter with their generous Shipmates who make up the Coast Guard Foundation,” said Brice-O’Hara.

This article was sponsored by Police Books.