Okay, I am going to interrupt my blog post schedule and put off posting more pictures from this past weekend in Utah (Sorry Max!) to help raise awareness for a cause that is very close to my heart. As most of you know I served in Iraq from February 2003 - August 2003. This deployment obviously had an astounding affect on my life and changed me forever. When I moved to Boulder a year ago I had a difficult time adjusting to my new environment and the consequences from moving away from my support system of very close friends was devastating to me. Numerous other events occurred during this time that contributed to my hardship but the bottom line is, I eventually broke down. Not having anyone to turn to in Boulder I contacted the Boulder Vet Center, they referred me to Veterans Helping Veterans Now. I won’t bore you with the details of how VHVnow got started, if you’re interested you can check out their site, but the founder of the organization played a key role in allowing me to come to terms with the affects the war has had on me. I still have a long road ahead of me but at least I know what road I should be on now.
Being involved with VHVnow has been a saving catharsis for me. Being the oldest of 3 brothers in a family where loyalty and brotherhood was key, I am constantly finding myself trying to save or protect others. I am learning that the reward I get from the time I put into helping others is a form of therapy for me. Through my service with VHVnow I feel like I am undoing some of the death and destruction I was apart of for six months. The hard part for me has always been the part that matters most; real therapy. It’s something I am trying extremely hard to work towards and I am sure that in time I will be able to take that step.
After that extremely long segue (if you stuck with me thus far I thank you!) I come to the purpose of my post: Tweet to ReMIND.
More than 1.65 million U.S. service members have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11. More than 35,000 service members have been physically wounded. It is estimated that more than 320,000 have sustained traumatic brain injuries and more than 300,000 have psychological wounds. Tweet to ReMIND empowers Twitter users to spread this message and raise money to give injured service members, veterans and their families the local support and resources they deserve as they heal and reintegrate into their communities.
The event is being put on by ReMIND.org, an organization started by Bob Woodruff an American news anchor who was injured in Iraq by a roadside bomb. Mr. Woodruff suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury as a result of the blast and through his treatment had the chance to meet thousands of troops facing the same challenging recovery. The organization’s purpose is to disseminate funds to smaller local organizations that are on the ground working with Troops, Veterans and their families in their local communities. They are able to provide this service by coming up with ingenious ideas like Tweet To Remind.
ReMIND.org’s goal is to mobilize 400,000 Twitter users over Memorial Day weekend (Friday, May 22, through Monday, May 25). We want to send a message of support to the troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families, and raise $1.65 million for local support services and resources to assist their recovery from the physical and psychological wounds of war. Each Twitter user must Tweet at least four times in order to attain our goal.
Lofty goals, for sure. But considering they have two full months of marketing ahead of them and couple that with the fact that they are utilizing the largest growing social media network on then internet, it doesn’t seem that daunting. I’ve added a widget in my left sidebar so you can easily sign up. Make sure you register on their site too!
