Fundraising efforts continue for wounded Marine
The Tunnel to Towers foundation will be hosting a fundraiser concert on Aug. 9 for Marine Corporal Doug Vitale, a former Peters Twp. resident, in Pittsburgh.
After receiving a traumatic brain injury and double leg amputation during an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2011, Marine Corporal Doug Vitale was selected in 2012 through the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Gary Sinise Foundation program “Building for America’s Bravest” to receive a “smart house.”
At a cost of around $500,000, the community is hoping to gather enough money to make sure that Doug, and his wife, Alexis Vitale, a Peters Twp. native, can receive this home.
Donations are being accepted through at the Washington Federal Savings Bank on Route 19, and can also be sent to VFW Post 764 Relief Fund, 460 Valleybrook Road, McMurray, 15317.
Doug was one of 13 selected to receive this special program. The goal of the campaign is to acquire products, services, and labor for the building of the house donated free, or as minimal a cost as possible.
The Vitale family has already received a donation of $83,220.55 on April 30, which was raised through various fundraisers, including a Hero Walk and a wrestling “March for a Marine,” with the help of the Peters Township Wrestling Boosters, Peters Township Dance Team, School District, VFW Post 764 and Upper St. Clair Wrestling. Many suppliers and contractors have already pledged donated products and/or services for the Vitale family as well.
Doug and Alexis Vitale currently reside in Tampa, Fla., where Doug is undergoing acute rehabilitation.