FOXBORO – Don Cox, head of the Cape Cod Military Support Foundation, was in Foxboro Sunday afternoon to be honored on the field at Gillette Stadium ahead of the Partiots’ matchup with the Jets.
Cox was in for a surprise, however, when he realized just what Patriots owner Robert Kraft had in store for him.
“I was standing there with the other 15 winners and they announced that they were gonna select one of us as the “difference maker of the year,” said Cox.
“Bob Kraft walked out on the field with Andre Tippett and the cheerleaders following that with the check,” recalls Cox, “When they stopped in front of me and the girl turned around I almost died a and it wasn’t from the cold, it was from the heart attack.”
Kraft presented the Cape Cod Military Support Foundation President with a check for $20,000 to support the group’s efforts supporting local servicemen and women and their families.
As part of the efforts to encourage volunteerism every week throughout the season, the Kraft family and the foundation present the “Patriots Difference Maker of the Week” award, which recognizes deserving volunteers who go above and beyond to support their local community and nonprofit organizations.
“So many nonprofit organizations rely on the work of volunteers,” said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft.
“We encourage everyone to volunteer and like to highlight those who do the most to positively impact their communities. It’s nice to give credit to those who are most deserving and to reward the nonprofits they represent.”
As President and CEO of the Cape Cod and Massachusetts Military Support Foundations, nonprofit organizations that provides programs, services and goods that help satisfy critical needs and enhance the well-being and quality of life for Massachusetts active duty military, veterans and their families.
Each year, Cox and his team deliver more than 4,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to military children. In addition, the foundation provides emergency assistance to help families cover living expenses and provide post-secondary education scholarships to military personnel and their spouses.
One of the group’s more public events is their annual holiday party where numerous volunteers collect thousands of toys that will be donated to military families.
Cox says that the $20,000 will go a long way to supporting their initiatives.
By DAVID BEATTY, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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