One out of five veterans returning from Iraq/Afghanistan suffer from PTSD or major depression.
There are more than 40,000 service members that have been injured in current conflicts.
I've always felt a strong pull towards veterans, especially those that are wounded. On the fortunate occasion that I meet one somewhere, I'm that guy that shakes their hand and thanks them for their service. I remember when I was a cop in Athens, I met this guy that was a Vietnam vet working security at the UGA HPER building. When I shook his hand and told him thanks, he started crying and said that no one thanked him much for doing what he did. When I walked away from him, he never knew I started crying myself.
The Wounded Warrior Project is an amazing charity that was founded in 2003 by a group of veterans and friends that felt strongly about this generation's veterans. One of their visions is to have the most prepared group of veterans to re-enter society upon returning from their duty stations. Imagine if we'd had something this organized after the Vietnam conflict. Our nation might be a little different right now, but I can guarantee that the security guard that I mentioned above would be a different man.
Previously, I mentioned that I was on the fence about doing Tough Mudder until I found out about their support of the WWP. To date, participants in Tough Mudder have donated over $1 million to the WWP. I'm not usually the kind of person that asks for donations or support for anything, but I think this is a pretty good reason to donate. Sometime over the next few days (ok, when I figure out how to write the code *UPDATE LINK IS FUNCTIONAL!*), I'm going to have a link here to donate to the WWP. If you're able, please donate a couple of bucks to the cause. They're pretty proud of the fact that 82 cents of every dollar that's donated to their cause goes directly to a Wounded Warrior. I'm just proud that most of my entry fee for the event goes to the cause.
PS: I promise this will be the only depressing post on the blog :)
Thanks for reading...
I wanted to be the first to say how super awesome it is that you are putting yourself through all of this strenuous activity for such a wonderful cause. and as an old friend who does remember the slim back in high school, I can't wait for the updates. So, work hard and don't give up. I wanted to leave something truly inspirational to keep you motivated but all I can think of right now is "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." So, work hard but play harder.
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