Military Children: Young Team Members

Meet Kelly and Brooke, both 11, and Devin, 5 years old.  Their father is in the Marine Corps and they have spent their entire lives following their Dad's career.  Their Mom is a director for Hope For The Warriors® and was one of the original volunteers when the organization started in 2006.

The kids had a great opportunity this year.  They attended the Disney Marathon and Half Marathon in January with their parents and members of Team Hope For The Warriors®.  They were excited to meet real life heroes--Manny and John, two wounded service members who competed in the marathon and half marathon.

The kids decided they wanted to do more.  The family lives in the Tampa area, home to the popular Gasparilla races.  Their Dad heads up Tampa Team Hope For The Warriors® and the Team participated in the half marathon that weekend. The two girls motivated a group of their classmates to run the Gasparilla 5K race in honor of Manny and John. They had fun and honored our heroes!

Dad returns from deployment and meets his son.

If you have a great military child that has supported Hope For The Warriors®, please let us know!  Send photos and information to Anne Woods.

Friday's Photo

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

A high five after the bike tour.

Bicycles Built For Two

This weekend, I made the short drive to beautiful Tyler, TX and attended the Beauty & The Beast Bike Tour.  The tour is organized by the Tyler Bicycle Club and included distances ranging from 13 to 67 miles.  The tour began at the KE Bushman's Winery & Celebration Center and took cyclists along miles of Tyler countryside (Beauty) and one, really challenging hill (The Beast).

This year, proceeds from the event went to a local nonprofit, Texas Wounded Warrior Foundation.  They are a great organization, lead by Dick Goetz--a man with a talent in golf and a heart of gold.  The group holds a golf event each fall for wounded service members and the entire city of Tyler has done a great job honoring the warriors who attend.

For the bike tour, Texas Wounded Warrior invited Team Hope For The Warriors® to attend.  One warrior who attended was a Marine currently in rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.  He is a single arm amputee and an avid athlete who likes to run and now cycle.

To support this warrior's recovery, Texas Wounded Warrior donated a recumbent bike to the Marine.  However, the group took a step further too.  It is their belief, and our belief too, that a key component of supporting the service member means that we also support his family.  And with that in mind, the group also generously donated a bike to the Marine's wife.  Now this Marine can train and compete in races, or just enjoy a leisurely ride, with his wife by his side.

Hope For The Warriors thanks Texas Wounded Warrior Foundation for their generous donation and ongoing support.  We also thank the Tyler Bicycle Club for their commitment to our military families.  They put on a great event that gathered hundreds of cyclists from near and far.

Our warrior and his wife loved the bike tour, the Tyler countryside and the bikes.  Cycling will definitely become a new part of the warrior's recovery and the couple's life.

Friday's Photo

A picture is worth a thousand words.

The start of the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon
Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle

Got Bibs?

Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle

Team Hope For The Warriors® is comprised of two groups of people.  First, the Team is a program that supports our wounded service members and helps them get back into competitive athletic pursuits.  Often, this requires special adaptive equipment, such as a handcycle.  Once they have their adaptive equipment, we continue our support by providing race bibs, travel and lodging so that our wounded Team members can compete with their fellow military brother and sisters.

Robin, our president, on the scenic route of the
American Odyssey Relay.  Photo by Paul Oberle.

This program is supported by community Team members, many who obtain bibs from Hope For The Warriors® for key, sold out races.  Didn't sign up in time for the Marine Corps Marathon?  No problem, we have bibs.  NYC Marathon lottery didn't go your way?  We got it!

Links to register to any of our Team races can be found on our Team Web Page.

We have bibs for the following races:

American Odyssey Relay--April 27-28
Hope For The Warriors® is forming two teams for this amazing relay race.  Each team will combine our wounded heroes with community athletes.

TD Five Boro Bike Tour--May 6
Registration is closed for this event but we still have a few race bibs left.

Marine Corps Historic Half--May 20
Run the streets of historic Fredericksburg, VA.

Rock 'n' Roll, Virginia Beach Half--September 2
First time Team Hope For The Warriors will be in this sold out race!

Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half--September 16
Another new race this year for our Team.

Army Ten-Miler--October 21
Hooah!  We are excited to add this race to our Team schedule.

Marine Corps Marathon--October 28
Last year's marathon sold out in 28 hours.  We are already selling our bibs now.  Sign up today!

The ING New York City Marathon--November 6
We have already sold half of our bibs for this race.  We are not sure if we will have any left when the lottery is announced.  Why wait?!

To keep up with all of this information, I encourage you to "Like" the Team Facebook page and read the Team Blog.

Michael Cuomo, actor, "Happy New Year" and ROTC student
Jack Rosenhammer complete the NYC Marathon together in
perfect "No man left behind" style!

Marine Corps Marathon - Team Hope For The Warriors®

One of the many Team members competing on a handcycle.
Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle

Approximately 40,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Washington, DC on October 28, 2012 for the 37th Marine Corps Marathon, but only the special few will be running for a cause greater than themselves.

The Marine Corps Marathon does not open until March 7 and last year, the race sold out in 28 hours.

This race is one of the largest marathons in the world and one of the best organized.  If you are someone who supports our military families, this race is even more special.  It is a way to give back and honor those who have served and sacrificed.

And when you are part of Team Hope For The Warriors®, you will run alongside many of the wounded service members that the Team supports.  Our Team takes to the streets on foot, prosthetics and on handcycle--determined to be defined by their accomplishments, not their injuries.

As a member of Team Hope For The Warriors® you can personally and positively affect the lives of wounded service members and their families, just by doing what you love to do—running a great race!

To learn more, follow the link to the Marine Corps Marathon Team page. Each team member will be required to set a minimum goal of raising $575 for Hope for the Warriors®.  Many use the tools we provide to set and exceed a much higher goal. 

Want to learn more of have questions?  E-mail our Team Director Jenlene.

Team member at the 2011 MCM.  Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle

Year In Pictures - Rollin' Along

Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle.

The smile on both of their faces tells the story.  This photo was taken along a country road in the middle of New Jersey.  The veteran had just received this donated handcycle and was going on his first ride as Jenlene, our Team Hope For The Warriors® Director ran along.  These handcycles can go extremely fast and so this athlete was being kind--going slow enough for someone to run alongside him.  He has now returned with his young family and the handcycle to his upstate New York home where there are many miles of country road for him to reach top speeds. 

I am a firm believer that if everyone exercised, everyone would be happier and the world would be a better place.  I offer their expressions as evidence of this belief.

In 2011, Hope For The Warriors® facilitated the donation of 23 pieces of adaptive equipment to our service members at a cost of more than $65,000.  Donations came from:  Deer Park Lions Club, FDNY VFW,  Ground Zero Independence Ride, Haskell Family of Long Island, Jordan's Initiative, Siller Foundation, Tee It Up For The Troops,  Yorktown Heights Community, Zilinski Memorial Fund and directly from our organization.

Year In Pictures - A Smile at Mile 26.2

Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle.

Paul and Sally Kelly have done so much for Hope For The Warriors®, I could do an entire blog on their efforts and their impact.  As a matter of fact, here is Paul's blog if you would like to read more.  Together, the couple has raised more than $38,000 for Hope For The Warriors®. 

Beyond the fact that they raise funds and awareness, both Paul and Sally have become mentors to other athletes.  Paul, a quadriplegic, competes on a handcycle and has helped new service members who are still adapting to the equipment.  Sally has supported Team efforts and trained with other members to help them reach their race goals.

For the past several years, Paul has raced in countless marathons and Sally has raced in shorter distances, including several half marathons.  In 2010, she helped a teammate from Team Hope For The Warriors® train and complete her first marathon.  After that, Sally decided that she too would join the ranks of marathon finishers.

This photo shows Sally after she completed the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon and her smile says it all.  She completed her first marathon at an age that many Americans are thinking about retirement and taking life easy.  And not only was her first marathon inspiring, she place 30th in her age group out of 90.  An amazing accomplishment for a first marathon and in such a huge marathon.

As a sidenote, not only could I do an entire blog on Paul and Sally, I could also do an entire blog on members of Team Hope For The Warriors®.  To see more incredible photos of amazing people, I encourage you to "Like" out Team Facebook page. 

Friday's Photo

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

John and Manny at their first triathlon.

And a special addition this Friday, a short thank you video from Manny.  A longer PSA is in the works right now too.

Tunnel to Towers and Team Hope For The Warriors®

For ten years now, the Tunnel to Towers Race has been held in New York City at the end of September.  It repeats the steps that firefighter Stephen Siller ran on 9/11. He rushed from the entrance of the Brooklyn Tunnel, on foot and in full gear, to the towers in hopes to join his fellow firefighters.  He made it to the towers and died with so many other heroes that day.

The Siller family has carried on his name and they are without a doubt, an incredible family.  They are generous and energetic--proud of their brother and proud of our service members.  And they really know how to take care of those service members.

Team Hope For The Warriors® joins in this event each year at the start of the race.  Before the race begins, one of our wounded service members is donated a handcycle from the Siller Family.  That handcycle will enable that warrior to embrace their competitive spirit and once again by defined by their accomplishments, not their injuries.

Another major project of The Siller Foundation is building homes for severely wounded service members.  They have plans to build several homes in 2012 for service members who are multiple amputees--most have three or four amputations.  Hope For The Warriors® has partnered with the Siller Foundation to furnish each one of the homes.

I write about this today because a fellow blogger, Roger Stradley, highlighted our organization in his blog yesterday.  To read more about the Siller Foundation and their work, visit his blog.

A Member of our Team at the start of the Tunnel to Towers Race
Photo provided courtesy of Paul Oberle.

Friday's Photo

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Veteran Derek Hughes with his daughter.

Photo provide courtesy of Paul Oberle.