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DALLAS – Brandy Joyner, 30,
of Cedar Rapids, 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. Joyner will receive $12,000 from the Fund to
assist with raising her son David Michael Kirchhoff Jr., 12, after
David’s father, Army PFC David Michael 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.
“Thank you Mr. Cuban for this grant,”
said David Michael Jr. “It will help us in ways that I could never have
imagined. No amount of money will ever replace my Dad, but I’m glad to know
that people are still thinking about me and my future.”
“I’m very thankful for the grant,” said
Joyner. “Unfortunately my ex-husband left all his life insurance to his wife
and step-children, making no provisions for our son. This grant will give my
son and our family opportunities we might not have otherwise had. I’d like to
thank Mark Cuban and the other donors of the Fallen Patriot Fund, and I would
also like to thank David, Sr. and the many other men and women who sacrifice
their lives every day so that we can be free. Thank you for everything you have
done for us.”
Donations to the Fallen Patriot Fund are still
being accepted and can be made at any of the 5,700 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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