It is very exciting to be writing the first blog for the Warriors for Warriors Charity Shark Tournament operated out of Manasquan Inlet on June 13th and 14th, 2014. We hope that this fund raising tournament will be a huge success as we work hard to raise money for American military veterans who need help. I feel very fortunate to be working with my friends, former US Navy SEALs Rich Graham and Shannon Rusch, who have been very successful raising money for veterans through other recent fund raising events that they have led. These guys have deeply inspired me and I believe we are putting together a truly unique event. As a local Brick/Pt. Pleasant area resident and fisherman, I know the fishing community overwhelmingly supports the military and our veterans who sacrifice so much for our country. I am not aware of any event like this anywhere and am confident that this event will be well received and get a lot of support and participation.
We have established this tournament to be an annual fund raising event that raises money for charities supporting veterans. Each year, we will select a charity and for 2014, we are proud to support Operation Restored Warrior an organization that put 97% of all donations towards helping prevent veteran suicides. It absolutely blew me away to learn that we have more than 22 veterans committing suicide each day, including 1 per day in active duty. Ever since I first learned about this, I wanted to find a way to help. Operation Restored Warrior has a 5 day program called Drop Zone which costs about $2000 per veteran to go through and it is absolutely saving lives. As such, the way I look at it, thinking about fund raising and donations, for each $2000 raised we can save the life of a veteran who has given so much for our country and our values. Putting together this tournament seemed like a perfect way to help in a major way to help. Thus far, I have been so touched by the support we have received. Across the board, everyone I have talked with has wanted to get involved on some way or another.
We are in the process of securing Sponsors and finalizing the website www.warriorstournament.com so please visit it weekly to see updates. Additionally, you can read this Blog for updates and also please check out our Warriors for Warriors Tournament Facebook page where we will post updates, new videos and provide additional information as necessary. If you visit the website and are going to fish the tournament, please leave your name and email so we can put your name in a drawing for an offshore big game fishing reel. We hope you will join us to fish in the Tournament, but if you are not into fishing, you can always join us at the after party fund raiser dinner where food will be served, drinks will be discounted, there will be a silent auction and you can meet the SEALs.
No comments:
Post a Comment