August 27, 2015 // Seattle, WA On Wednesday August 26th, The personal representative of the Estate of Katherine Hayes, Daniel Smerken, of Smerken Consulting, presented Washington-based charity Operation Ward 57 with a donation check of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000). The generous donation from Mrs. Hayes estate was the largest individual donation in the charities history which is solely funded by individual donations and sponsorships.
Mrs. Hayes was a native of Olympia where her father was a school principal. She was 95 years old when she passed. Independent, hardworking, progressive and determined, Mrs. Hayes managed the family finances that her husband earned as a Merchant Marine Captain. It was Mrs. Hayes wish that others would benefit from her prudent management if the funds she and her husband had saved over the years and that these funds be used to help others develop the skills to become as independent and self-sufficient as they can be.
“I am confident that Operation Ward 57 will help perpetuate Mrs. Hayes’ legacy,” stated Daniel Smerken as he presented the check to Operation Ward 57 Executive Director Brittney Hamilton. The donation will be used to help the many programs of Operation Ward 57 so that they may continue to assist our nation’s wounded heroes and their families.
About Operation Ward 57
Founded in 2007 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the mission of Operation Ward 57 is to support wounded, injured and ill service members, veterans, their caregivers and those that aid in their recovery by providing assistance and outreach in their recovery, comfort and morale, and through advocacy, education and promotion of their circumstances. Operation Ward 57 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity. For more information go to www.operationward57.org or www.facebook.com/operationward57
