3 Easy Ways To Say Thank You To Our Veterans

Today is Veterans Day, a day we remember and say thank you to those who've served and given their lives to protect our freedoms.   I decided to ask my friends who are veterans if they suggested any ways civilians like myself might be able to say thank you.  The first two below are organizations that were very near to their hearts, and were suggested by multiple people.  I also included some additional links.

We wouldn't have the lives and freedoms we have today without our soldiers and veterans.  Please make sure to thank them today!

A SOLDIER'S CHILD BIRTHDAY FOUNDATION
The photo above is of a young boy name Christian, son of Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski, accepting his father's flag at his funeral.  Marc's friend Daryl Mackin realized that Christian would never again receive a present from his father, and that there were children all over the country who would never again receive a present from their fathers or mothers who had lost their lives defending our country.
Christian’s father wrote this in a letter to his mother shortly before he died in combat:

"We are warriors… we fight and sometimes die so that our families don’t have to… Stand beside us."

The goal of A Soldier's Child Birthday foundation is to do just that- stand beside fallen soldier's families.  They aim to honor the memory of the parent by giving a meaningful gift to his/her children on their birthday.  If you'd like to help, you can do so here.

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WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT and THE SOLDIER RIDE

The Wounded Warrior Project assists soldiers who've been injured in action.  Being into triathlons and endurance events, I especially have a heart for the sporting portion of this group. It was great to see the soldiers with the Wounded Warrior Project running at Ragnar Tennessee last weekend.

Next year I hope to ride during another event of theirs, The Soldier Ride.  These rides take place around the country (including Nashville), and raise funds for the project.  If you'd like to donate or participate in a ride, you can do so here.
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Special Operations Warrior Foundation
Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides scholarships and counseling to families and children of fallen or severely wounded special operations soldiers.   You can donate here.

A friend of mine let me know her husband lost his best friend last year in the well publicized Blackhawk helicopter crash, leaving behind his wife and four children- one who had only been with his daddy four weeks of his life.  The Special Operations Warrior Foundation gave his children scholarships.  As she put it so well, "It is strange to have it so close to home.  I think what most do not realize is the compounded effect of the loss of one life. It's not just the families, it's the brothers and friend as well.  Much like a pebble in the lake the ripple is huge! "


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SUPPORT OUR TROOPS (http://troopssupport.com/)
This site contains links to several organizations that support our troops, including Operation Mom, Hugs for Heroes, and others.

It just takes a few minutes to give back and say thanks today!

Running Ragnar TN, 2012!

I'm running 196 miles with my Ragnar Relay team over mountains and through the night (last year, through sleet, rain and snow), 30 hours straight, from Chattanooga to Nashville Friday (aka tomorrow) and Saturday.  Follow, donate (please, it's for an awesome cause!), and cheer!

FOLLOW:
Where are we? We'll be posting handoffs, photos, and videos throughout the day and night!
Twitter @SHMinistry
Facebook.com/servantsheartministry (NOTE: twitter updates will be more frequent)
Youtube.com/12ozofawesome (you can see several videos from last year already, more going on through the race)

In theory, here is where I'll be:
At 1:02PM on Friday- http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/tennessee/legs/5 (somewhere between Chattanooga and Jasper, TN)
At 11:39PM on Friday night- http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/tennessee/legs/17 (in the wilderness near Lynchburg, TN)
At 8:35AM on Saturday morning- http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/tennessee/legs/29 (cruising from Page High School to Trinity Park in Franklin)

DONATE*:
Brian Lord: www.firstgiving.com/brianlord  (Krista, the girls and I will be visiting these kids next spring).

MAPS: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/tennessee/course_maps


Thanks for your support!
Brian


*Why donate? TO BRING BACK THE CHICKEN!!!
In a nutshell, this past year, Servants Heart Ministry's donations were down, so they had a tough decision- do they A) still serve chicken, rice, and beans for their meals, but stop feeding as many kids in Santiago, Dominican Republic, or B) feed as many kids, but cut out the chicken. Rob (my good friend, SHM co-founder, and one of our runners) told me the story of the time he had to be the person at the end of the food line, and had the difficult job of telling a grandmother that they didn't have enough food for her grandchild- basically, that they had to turn her away and the child would have to go hungry.  So the decision was made- the kids would lose the chicken, but at least the same number of kids would have something until donations came back up.

So, we've set a goal of raising $2,675 (the cost of chicken for one month for the kids in the program), so all the kids can have chicken (and the much needed protein it provides) for December- sort of a Christmas present. (as of Thursday morning, we're at $1,495)

THANKS FOR HELPING BRING BACK THE CHICKEN!!!

My Ragnar Route

I'm running a 195-mile relay race from Chattanooga called the Ragnar Relay (www.ragnartn.com).  We're raising money to help feed kids in the Dominican Republic through a ministry called Servants Heart Ministry (www.servantsheartministry.com).  We'll each run three legs of varying lengths.  I'm in the middle speed-wise, so I get two 'hards' and one 'moderate', for a total of about 17 miles.  We'll have two vans of six runners each, so one van will follow their six runners, while the other van rests, then we play hopscotch.

Our team starts at 10AM Eastern, but since I'm runner 10 of 12, I don't get to start to that evening. Here is where I'll be running my first leg of the relay, around 6:30PM Eastern time on Friday, Nov 5.  I get the joy of running 6.5 miles up a mountain in Monteagle!

I'll get into a van, wait a couple hours as our Van 2 runners finish, then go to a rest area for another few hours.  Then we'll hop back in our van, and eventually I'll get my 'easy' run as I cruise through Shelbyville, TN, about 3:35AM Central. (we'll have crossed into a new time zone by that point).

Then back into the van, wait for our other two runners to finish, then head to Franklin for a few hours sleep. 

About 2:37PM, I'll get my third and final run through Belle Meade into Green Hills.  You wouldn't believe it, but they rate this one as being harder than the run up Monteagle.  Must be all the Belle Meade bling.

You can follow our progress at twitter.com/shministry, or on facebook.com/servantsheartministry.

If you'd like to donate (suggested is $25), go to www.firstgiving.com/brianlord.  Thanks for helping!

Brian