Woodcraft Teams with Patriot Woodworker to Gift Wounded Marine’s Family

A Patriot Woodworker fundraiser will make Christmas a lot happier for Haley, Nick, Briana and Makenzie Hine, back row from left, and Hunter and Hudson, from left in front.

The Patriot Woodworker organization hopes to raise $2,000 to provide gifts and a Christmas meal for a wounded Marine and his family, with the help of Woodcraft and two other national sponsors.

Each Christmas season, The Patriot Woodworker adopts a family through Operation Ward 57, a nonprofit organization that supports wounded, injured and ill service members, veterans and their caregivers with outreach programs. Patriot Woodworker then sells raffle tickets to raise money for the family gifts, and for participants of the raffle to have a chance to win prizes donated by national sponsors.

Visit thepatriotwoodworker.com for more information and the opportunity to donate. The fundraiser will end on December 31. Prize winners will then be randomly selected from the list of participants. A total of $2,085 was raised in 2019.

Prizes include: a WoodRiver Standard Block Plane with an Adjustable Mouth and a WoodRiver V3 #4 Bench Plane from Woodcraft; a 14|12 Laguna Bandsaw from Laguna; and two Easy Wood Parting Tools from Easy Wood Tools.

“Woodcraft is pleased to be able to contribute to a project that honors a wounded veteran and his family during this Christmas season,” Woodcraft President and CEO Jack Bigger said. “We applaud The Patriot Woodworker members for organizing this event.”

The Hine Family

Nick Hine, a former US Marine Corps sniper/infantryman, was deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. He was injured in an IED blast in 2004 and now has Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), binocular dysfunction, and knee and back injuries.

He and his wife, Briana, and their four children, Haley, 14; Makenzie, 13; Hunter, 8; and Hudson, 4, live in California. Briana shared some facts about the children: Haley, a straight A student, wants to be a detective when she get older; Makenzie adores hanging out with her siblings; Hunter, an ice hockey player, wants to be a pilot or play for the NHL; and Hudson “wants to fight the bad guys.” Haley and Hunter are also school leaders.

Nick’s interests include sports, woodworking, fishing and hunting.

Briana is pursuing a law degree and will graduate in December. She is hoping to get an internship with the Veterans Legal Institute in Orange County, California. Because of the challenges she and her husband have faced, she wants to help other disabled veterans obtain what they need.

“I know a lot of Nick’s sniper buddies from 2/7 have either died in combat, died by suicide or are suffering silently,” she said. “People like you (John Morris, founder of Patriot Woodworker) and your community of veterans/woodworkers help these guys know they are not forgotten.” The 2/7 reference is to the 2nd Battalion/ 7th Marine Regiment in the 1st Marine Division.

To read more about the Hine family, visit thepatriotwoodworker.com.  

Although the fundraiser ends after Christmas, John Morris has already purchased most of the presents for the children and made arrangements for the meal, using his own money. “I am confident each year we will raise at least $2,000. Any funds leftover after the purchase of the family gifts and meals will be given to the Hine Family; 100 percent of the proceeds go to the family," he said.

Every year, John Morris trusts in the generosity of his fellow Patriot Woodworkers and the public to participate in this fundraiser – not so much for the prizes, which are for sure worth winning, but to help a veteran who has sacrificed a lot to be part of the military forces that defend the USA.

Hats off to you, John and all the participants who will make this project a success – and perhaps the best one yet!