Thanks to the caring spirit of readers and local businesses, My Edmonds News was able to provide a Christmas Day community meal for families of wounded military personnel undergoing treatment at Seattle’s VA Medical Center.

PCC Natural Markets donated the holiday dinners — including turkey and ham, several side dishes, rolls and pie — which we picked up at PCC’s Edmonds store on Christmas Eve and delivered to the VA’s Fisher House on Christmas Day. We also had a chance to visit with some of the families living at the house, which is one of 53 located at U.S. military installations and VA medical centers.

Mary Lou Ferguson of Yorktown, Virginia, was there to celebrate Christmas with her brother Joe Barnes of Missoula, Montana, a Vietnam veteran who was undergoing rehab at the VA Medical Center after surgery related to an aorta replacement left him with limited feeling in his legs. Barnes’ 16-year-old son Rem also made the trip from Montana to visit his father, and Barnes was able to leave the hospital for a while to join his family at Fisher House for the Christmas Day meal.

“Thank you so much for what you are doing for us,” Ferguson said. “The food was wonderful.” Other Fisher House guests were equally enthusiastic about the meal, and several of them made plates to carry over to their loved ones in the hospital.

We’d like to offer our thanks to the following businesses and individuals who made donations to the My Edmonds News Fisher House project:

Meals
PCC Natural Markets

Toiletries for Fisher House guests
Judy Salinas, Glazed & Amazed, Edmonds

Kitchen and laundry supplies
Bea O’Rourke, Edmonds
Susan Lewis, Bothell

Gift cards for stocking stuffers
Pritam and Dan Potts, Edmonds
Carolyn Carman, Edmonds

On-site volunteers
The Waldron family, Edmonds
Becky Garvie, Edmonds