Donated golf cart benefits veterans at Fisher House

Friday, Jan. 13, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY —A golf cart donated by the Knights of Columbus to the Fisher House of Salt Lake will be a much-needed blessing for the veterans and their families who stay there, said Ray Bachiller, USMC (ret.) and a fourth-degree Knight, who helped arrange the donation. 

The Fisher House provides shelter and care to veterans and their families who are treated at United States Veterans Affairs hospitals. The Salt Lake Fisher House is one of many founded by Zachary Fisher, whose generosity toward members the U.S. military has been recognized publicly by five past U.S. presidents, according to the Fisher House website.

Though the Fisher House Foundation is well organized, they don’t receive public funding and necessities must be met by donations alone, said Bachiller. One need in particular at the Salt Lake City facility caught Bachiller’s eye and the eyes of the Knights of Columbus: transportation. 

At the George E. Wahlen VA hospital in Salt Lake City, many veterans are unable to walk around the hospital grounds. This problem is solved with “their own battalion of golf carts,” which carry the veterans from place to place.

“[The Fisher House] veterans cover a wide range of age and capabilities as well,” and they face the same need: Some veterans and their elderly family members are unable to make the journey from the house to the hospital, Bachiller said.

The Knights of Columbus were in the forefront of his mind when he saw the problem, because the Knights had provided funds for a playground at the Fisher House, so Bachiller appealed to them to once again step up to help, he said. 

“The Knights of Columbus said, ‘No problem,’” he said, and donated a golf cart, free of charge.

The new golf cart is actually the second one that the Knights of Columbus have donated to the Fisher House; the first one broke down from exposure to poor weather conditions and needed replacing.

The new golf cart was presented to the Fisher House on Jan. 5.

“The Knights of Columbus deserve recognition, but that’s not why we do it,” Bachiller said. “It’s just the right thing to do. I truly believe [the veterans] are entitled to be taken care of.”

Quinn Kiger-Good, the manager of the Salt Lake Fisher House, had nothing but praise for the group as well. “The Knights have been so great,” she said. “They are always the first people I reach out to.”

The golf cart is a huge help to the Fisher House, said Kiger-Good, but it’s not the end of the Knights’ relationship with them. Already, plans have been put in motion for the Knights to install a heated shed to prevent this new golf cart from sharing the same fate as the previous one.

“The Fisher House is unable to get rid of us,” Bachiller joked.

He isn’t worried at all that his brother Knights can pull off the additional donation. 

“Find the dimensions, find the vendor, send us the bill,” he said.