The Arredondo Family Foundation

The mission of the Arredondo Family Foundation is to provide a helping hand to those experiencing a tragedy and to provide education on matters relating to military, veterans, military families, and the issue of suicide.

The Arredondo Family Foundation is based on the efforts of Melida ’92 and Carlos Arredondo, step-mother and father to the late Lcpl. Alexander Scott Arredondo, United States Marine Corps, and his brother, the late Brian Luis Arredondo.

The Arredondo Brothers’ Memorial Scholarship at UMass Boston was established in 2015 as a way to honor Alex and Brian’s lives, and to give hope and support to military siblings and siblings of the fallen. The award will be presented at the Veterans Day celebration dinner hosted by the UMass Boston of Veterans Affairs each November.

After Alex was killed in action in Iraq in 2004, grief overwhelmed all members of the family, including Brian. His inconsolable grief caused him to suffer from severe depression and in 2011 Brian took his own life.

Together, Carlos and Melida became involved in peace activism and efforts that support returning veterans and their military families. Their participation assisting others has helped them with their own grief processes.

On April 15, 2013, Carlos and Melida attended the 117th running of the Boston Marathon to support a member of the National Guard who was honoring Alex, running in full military gear while carrying a 25lb rucksack. They also were cheering-on runners for Samaritans, a suicide prevention and support organization that supported them after Brian’s death. When the first bomb detonated on Boylston Street, Carlos instinctively ran towards the injured. He, and many other civilian responders, were among those who helped emergency personnel tend to the injured. Photographer Charles Krupa captured the now iconic image of Carlos and other responders assisting survivor Jeff Bauman to the ambulance that would bring him to Boston Medical Center.