Morgan family visits Coalition to celebrate $100,000 raised for homeless vets

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – November 16, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — On Veterans Day, Matt, John, and Ultima Morgan of Morgan & Morgan visited Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida to deliver $50,000 in support of the organization’s Veteran Services Program — and to announce that the Central Florida community had successfully matched their gift.

Matt Morgan first approached the Coalition in September, offering a $25,000 matching gift to help homeless veterans get back on their feet. His gift prompted his parents, John and Ultima, to contribute an additional $25,000. The Morgans subsequently challenged the Coalition and the community to match the combined total of $50,000 by Veterans Day.

This afternoon, in a small celebration of Veterans Day and the conclusion of the Morgan Matching Campaign, Matt thanked everyone involved for making the fundraising campaign a $100,000 success.

Turning to the veterans in attendance, he then said, “We appreciate, most importantly, the veterans and their service to our country. There is no greater tragedy than to have one serve their country and then come back to the country they protected only to find that they don’t have a home and they’ve fallen on hard times. The Coalition does great work here in the community to rehabilitate veterans and to acclimate them back into the community.”

The Coalition’s Men’s Service Center (MSC) is home to 50 veterans at any given time, and since opening in June 2014, the Veteran Services Program has placed 90 former servicemen into homes. Veterans in the Program are assigned case managers who specialize in meeting their specific needs. On-site, they have access to crucial services, such as counseling and job skills training, to help them return to lives of self-sufficiency.

Brent Trotter, President/CEO of the Coalition, expressed his gratitude. “The impact of the Morgan Matching Campaign goes beyond money. The fact that our community took the challenge and contributed over $50,000 to fight the issue of veteran homelessness is absolutely incredible. Being able to tell the men in our Program, ‘The people in Central Florida care. They stepped up and opened their hearts to you,’ is a tremendous honor, and I am so grateful.” He went on to say, “With Mayor Dyer’s veteran initiatives, with the support and generosity of our community, and with prominent families like the Morgans stepping up, we will continue to make great strides in fighting veteran homelessness.”

At the end of today’s celebration, one of the Program’s veterans spoke to Mr. Trotter, telling him that he was preparing to move into his new home. He said, “You saved my life.”