Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund Receives $3 Million Donation from TV Icon Bob Barker

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Wed Oct 7, 2009 9:02am EDT

Donation completes $60 million fundraising goal for TBI Center in Bethesda







BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF)
announced today that with the help of American TV icon Bob Barker, it has
reached its goal of $60 million to complete its current project, the National
Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), an advanced facility dedicated to
research, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) suffered by
U.S. military personnel.


The announcement comes after Mr. Barker, the long-time host of TV's "The Price
is Right" and a Naval aviator who served during World War II, pledged to
personally contribute the final $3 million needed for the construction aspect
of the project. Additional funds will be raised for research and other related
items.


"I am very happy to do whatever I can to support the brave men and women who
have given so much in service to our nation," said Barker. "They have given so
much for us; all Americans owe them a debt of gratitude for their tremendous
service and sacrifice."


The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund has been fundraising for this project since
late 2007, and in recent months, the Fund has pulled to within $3 million of
the goal. While it has reached the $60 million goal, the Fund is still working
to raise additional funds for research and other related efforts for wounded
troops.


"This amazing gift puts us over the top," said Bill White, President of the
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.  "Thousands of Americans have given to this
important effort, and Bob Barker has today stepped up to the task.  We are
immensely grateful for his wonderful generosity and his support for our
nation's servicemen and women."


"We have much more work to do to help our brave young men and women in
uniform," said Richard T. Santulli, Chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes
Fund. "But reaching our goal for NICoE is a great step forward in our
mission." 


NICoE, located in Bethesda, Maryland, adjacent to the new Walter Reed National
Military Medical Center, will be the Department of Defense's premiere facility
for the study of TBI, which according to some estimates afflicts more than
300,000 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Set to open next
year, NICoE will be a 72,000 square foot, two-story facility. The Intrepid
Fallen Heroes Fund is building the Center and equipping it with the most
advanced medical equipment for TBI research, diagnosis and treatment.  Once
complete, the Center will be turned over to the Department of Defense for
operation.  


About Bob Barker:


Bob Barker retired in 2007 from a long and notable career in television,
hosting shows such as Truth or Consequences and, most famously, the Price is
Right, which he helmed for 35 years.  He has made numerous other television
appearances throughout his 51-year career, including hosting The Rose Parade,
The Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants for 21 years. He made his motion
picture debut with Adam Sandler in "Happy Gilmore" in a comedy sequence that
has become part of movie folklore.  He is also well known as a leading
supporter of animal rights.


About the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund: 


The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund was established in 2000 to provide financial
support for the dependents of United States military personnel lost in
performance of their duty.  Originally operated as a program of the Intrepid
Museum Foundation in New York City, the Fund was established as an independent
not-for-profit organization in 2003. Through 2005, the Fund provided close to
$20 million to families of United States military personnel lost in
performance of their duty, mostly in service in Iraq and Afghanistan. In
January 2007 after only 16 months of fundraising and with the generous support
of over 600,000 Americans, the Fund completed construction of the Center for
the Intrepid, a $55 million world-class state-of-the-art physical
rehabilitation center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
This Center serves military personnel who have been catastrophically disabled
in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans severely injured in other
operations and in the normal performance of their duty.  In June 2008, ground
was broken on the Fund's current project, the National Intrepid Center of
Excellence (NICoE).






SOURCE  Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

Trey Ditto, Rubenstein Associates, Inc. - Public Relations, +1-212-843-8063,
tditto@rubenstein.com
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