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DALLAS – Amy Lekin, 30,
of Boone, Iowa, has been selected as a grant recipient of the Fallen Patriot
Fund, established on April 16, 2003, by the Mark Cuban Foundation, to
help families of U.S. military personnel who were killed or seriously injured
during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lekin will receive $12,000 from the Fund to
assist with raising her son Sean, 12, after Sean’s father, Army PFC
David M. Kirchhoff, 31, died in a U.S. military hospital in Germany on
August 14, 2003, after suffering heatstroke in the Iraqi desert.
Army PFC Kirchhoff was a truck driver
with the First Detachment, 2168th Transportation Company out of Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, which transports supplies, personnel and equipment. He was driving
semitrailer trucks in the northern part of Iraq when he suffered heatstroke.
“I cannot begin to explain how much this grant
means to me. I lost my job after David passed away, and then I heard Mark Cuban
on the radio. I didn’t think there was anybody out there who would think about
the families that didn’t receive life insurance,” said Lekin. “This grant
changed my life because I was about to lose my home. This will help me get my
living expenses up-to-date and be able to focus on finding work.”
Donations to the Fallen Patriot Fund are still
being accepted and can be made at any of the 4,200 Bank of America banking
centers; through the Web site at www.fallenpatriotfund.org, or mailed to the
Fallen Patriot Fund, c/o Bank of America Private Bank, TX1-492-19-09, P.O. Box
832409, Dallas, Texas, 75283-2409. Additional information and grant application
may be obtained through the Web site.
The Mark Cuban Foundation will match
donations to the Fallen Patriot Fund dollar for dollar up to $1 million. Since
April 16, 2003, donations have been received from 48 states, Canada and Italy.
In addition, the Bank of America Foundation will match employee donations dollar
for dollar from gifts of $25 up to $5,000.
Financial resources are vital to enhancing
the sustainability of the family unit who has suffered a loss because its loved
one sacrificed him/herself for freedom. Within
that group, grant recipients will be selected in accordance with criteria
established by The Mark Cuban Foundation. All proceeds will be disbursed.
The Mark Cuban Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) organization,
contributions to which are tax deductible.
Please contact a tax advisor for further details on charitable
contributions.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Gillian Breidenbach (Bank of America) 214.209.3122
Gillian.M.Breidenbach@bankofamerica.com
Dawn Holgate (Mark Cuban), 214.658.7170 (office)
214.878.2867 (mobile)
dawn.holgate@dallasmavs.com
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