Presque Isle Downs & Casino Supports Local Veterans through Impactful $35,000 Donation to Warriors to Washington

ERIE, PA., (December 28, 2023) – Presque Isle Downs & Casino (“Presque Isle”) celebrated the holiday season by generously donating $35,765 to local Erie, Pennsylvania non-profit, Warriors to Washington. The donation will directly support the non-profit’s annual event where local Veterans and their families are taken to the U.S. Capitol free of charge. While Presque Isle has supported Warriors to Washington for several years, this recent donation is the most impactful to date as it will cover all food, travel and lodging expenses for both the 2024 and 2025 Washington D.C. visits. All funds were raised through the properties Give $5, Get $10 reward program, Donation Stations located throughout the casino and team member donation events held during the month of October.

“The key to this partnership is that this is not just about making a monetary donation. This is about engaging both our patrons from the community and our team members to allow us to generate a donation of this magnitude.” shared Gary Hendricks, VP and General Manager of Presque Isle. “What Joe and the entire team at Warriors to Washington does for Veterans in Erie is incredible. This donation will go a long way towards making sure that they can continue to serve our local Veterans for years to come.”

Founded in 2013, Warriors to Washington have successfully taken nine groups of Veterans to visit Washington D.C. The annual trip, held every September following the anniversary of 9/11, includes stops at the National Archives to see the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, Arlington National Cemetery, Vietnam Memorial, WWII Memorial, Flight 93 Memorial Park, and various other sites of national significance.

“Part of the reason that we do this is we want those Veterans that we take on the trip to know that people care for them and care about them.” shared Joe Pfadt, President of Warriors to Washington. “To receive the kind of thanks and gratitude that we do at the end of the trip it’s terribly moving and it’s an incredible thing.”

For more information about Warriors to Washington, or if you’re a Veteran in the Erie, Pennsylvania area interested in participating in the next U.S. Capitol trip, visit: www.warriorstowashington.org.