Motorcycle Run to support Wounded Warrior Project
As we've grown accustomed to our nation at war, many Americans have gone from watching coverage of the battlefields to barely registering the count of dead soldiers.
Yet as we move through our daily lives, our servicemen and women on the front lines are - quite literally - risking life and limb in the name of freedom and democracy.
For those killed in action, there is sorrow, gratitude and a military funeral.
For those injured in battle, there is the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Florida-based nonprofit was organized in the early days of fighting in Afghanistan by veterans who knew servicemen and women would need more than a "welcome home" to help them get back to the life that lay ahead.
Now the organization starts helping severely injured military personnel almost as soon as they're hurt by providing backpacks full of toiletries and personal items to help them pass the time in military trauma centers. For a soldier who arrives with little more than a bloody uniform, the pack provides a sense of normalcy, a sense of self.
The Wounded Warrior Project continues working with military personnel once they return home, offering counseling, guidance through the transition to work, caregiver retreats and family services, and even adventure trips to help them cope with combat stress.
On Saturday, some wounded veterans will take part in the Motorcycle Run and Concert for the Cause, a daylong benefit to support the Wounded Warrior Project. The 50-mile ride from Markham winds its way to the Odeum Sports and Expo Center in Villa Park, where a lineup of six bands will perform. Event organizer Mike Cozzi discusses the Wounded Warrior Project and the fundraiser.
Q. What's the mission of the Wounded Warrior Project?
A. To raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured servicemen and women, to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members.
Q. When and why did the organization start? How has it grown?
A. Wounded Warrior Project began when several individuals took small, inspired actions to help others in need.
One night, while watching the evening news, a group of veterans and brothers were moved by the difficult stories of the first wounded service members returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. They realized that something needed to be done for these brave individuals beyond brass bands and ticker-tape parades.
The resulting objective was to provide tangible support for the severely wounded and help them on the road to healing, both physically and mentally. What had been viewed as a small contribution (compared to what the warriors sacrificed while serving our country) has become the Wounded Warrior Project's signature program: Wounded Warrior Packs.
The packs are backpacks filled with toiletries, calling cards, playing cards, CD players and more that are given to wounded servicemen and women arriving at military trauma centers. They often arrive straight from the field with only what they had with them when they were hurt, and it's comforting to them to have personal items.
Q. What challenges does the organization currently face?
A. Awareness is key, as every day we have more and more soldiers returning with some form of injury or loss.
Q. What do you wish the community at large knew about the Wounded Warrior Project?
A. Empowering the soldiers who have returned from overseas with nothing but what they have on, this organization sticks by the soldiers through all forms of rehab and will do everything possible to get them back to a level of normalcy in their life that they couldn't have imagined at the time of their injury
Q. How can readers get involved?
A. Call me at (708) 269-0009.
Q. Tell us about the Motorcycle Run and Concert for a Cause.
A. Hundreds of motorcycle enthusiast will come together to show their support for the returning servicemen and women who have suffered injuries while defending our freedom overseas.
First, there will be a motorcycle run, with several Wounded Warrior Project recipients being led on top of fire trucks and by police escort. Then, a concert will take place with six area musicians coming together for the cause.
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News"><b>What:</b> Wounded Warrior Project Motorcycle Run and Concert for the Cause</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> Breakfast begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, motorcycle run begins at 10:30 a.m.; concert begins at noon</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Breakfast and run start at Guy's Cycle Service, 15431 S. Pulaski, Markham; concert is at the Odeum Sports and Expo Center, 1033 N. Villa Ave., Villa Park</p> <p class="News"><b>Details:</b> Ride covers a 50-mile route with police escort; concert features Generation Hex, AVM, Stevie Starlite, Six Wheels South, Heartsfield and Ground Control</p> <p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $15 for the Run; $15 for the concert; $25 for both</p> <p class="News"><b>Info:</b> <a href="http://CDTP.org" target="new">CDTP.org</a> or <a href="http://woundedwarriorproject.org" target="new">woundedwarriorproject.org</a> </p> <p class="breakhead">To volunteer</p> <p class="News"><b>Call:</b> (708) 269-0009</p> <p class="News"><b>E-mail:</b> <a href="mailto:SJCRH@yahoo.com">SJCRH@yahoo.com</a></p>