Fundraiser to help Wounded Warriors go home for Christmas

Fundraiser to help Wounded Warriors go home for Christmas
Sun Journal
By Charlie Hall
Published: Sunday, November 24, 2013

A chance meeting between a New Bern businessman and a leader of the Military Order of the Purple Heart eight years ago blossomed into a major local fundraising project.

Wounded Warriors Leave Fundraiser has raised more than $2 million to give recovering wounded Marines a most special Christmas gift —a trip home for the holidays.

Steve Tyson’s business is real estate and his community involvement includes being a Craven County commissioner. With military service of his own, he often attends functions involving veterans.

Jim Casti of Newport is a retired Marine and multiple winner of the Purple Heart. He is a leader in the nonprofit organization for combat-wounded veterans.

The two were seated beside each other at a 2005 military fundraiser in Havelock, an event unrelated to the Purple Heart group. Their conversation set the stage for what has become an annual holiday event in New Bern —the Wounded Warrior Christmas Leave Fundraiser. This year, it is Dec. 11 at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center.
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