At TMF, we are using this time to pay tribute to the service members who gave their lives and also to honor the families they left behind, including survivors like Veronica Ortiz-Rivera.
Veronica’s husband, SSG Javier Ortiz-Rivera deployed four times with the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to September 2010. After Javier was killed on November 16, 2010, Veronica spent the first several years navigating her own grief and the grief of her three children.
Now, nearly a decade later, she has continued on her path of healing by honoring her husband’s legacy through service, most recently by joining a TMF Expedition to Puerto Rico to repair and rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Maria. The island, where rebuilding efforts are ongoing, is home to Javier’s father and many of his extended family. It’s also where Javier spent much of his childhood.
With your help, TMF continues to carry out our mission of empowering families of the fallen to serve while honoring the legacy of their loved ones. Your contributions mean more opportunities for survivors like Veronica to heal, serve, and grow to become change-makers in their communities.
For the next month, your donations can make double the impact on programs that help families of fallen heroes like TMF Expeditions and our CDM program where they serve as mentors to youth. From now through June, every dollar that you contribute will be matched by a private TMF donor. If you choose to begin a monthly recurring donation, your gift will be matched for 12 months.