Sticks for Soldiers

[ToastDunk]

Support our troops? Let's talk...

Every year Sticks for Soldiers hosts a high school lacrosse tournament to raise money for severely wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Our mission is simple – to provide support and give thanks to the service men and women who put their lives on the line and sacrificed for our country, while raising awareness among high school athletes to the sacrifices being made by people just a few years older than they are.

This special tournament and the fund-raising efforts from the participating high school lacrosse teams has now raised over $1 million since 2006 for our veteran honorees. What makes Sticks for Soldiers different and special is that we work with veteran support groups to identify an honoree (or multiple) for each year's tournament. Their courageous, emotional, and inspiring stories are shared with the young athletes and their families in order to remind us all not only about the sacrifices they've made for us, but the struggles these courageous men and women continue to live with. All of the money raised goes to the honorees and their family tax free, no strings attached. They served us, they sacrificed for us, it's our turn to serve them.

I am reaching out because your support in the important work we do would be a huge step forward for the lacrosse community to lead the way in supporting our nation's heroes.

Below is a link to a short 5 minute clip from a recent Zoom summit we held with this year's tournament players/coaches, Sticks For Soldiers founders, former PLL athlete turned active duty Navy sailor, and our 2017 Honoree: U.S. Army SSG (Ret.) William "Bill" Kleinedler. The short video is Bill sharing the impact Sticks For Soldiers and the efforts of the young athletes had on him and his family. All I am asking is that you take 5 minutes out of your day to listen to Bill, hear his story, and ask yourself if this is a cause you want to support.

Please DM me with your ideas for supporting our cause, or if you would like to get involved. I look forward to speaking about how we can work together to serve our heroes through lacrosse.

"What you have given me is...life." – U.S. Army SSG (Ret.) Kleinedler

Watch the video clip here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CjdaZp8A2jW/

[DMac]

TD,
1. Always good to hear from you.
2. Any way to share that link other than Instagram (am not "signed up" for it)?
3. Got a link for how/where to make donations?
Don't have to tell you I'm all in, thanks for reminding us of this every year.

[ToastDunk]

No problem DMac, let's see if any of these options work.

Here's a link to the LinkedIn post with a short write up and video clip:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/ur ... 3316567040

And here's a link to the Sticks for Soldiers website (it's currently under construction, but you can bet the donation function is working ):
https://www.sticksforsoldiers.org/

We recently held our first Sticks for Soldiers Zoom Summit, which turned out to be quite a success (and by that I mean zero technical glitches with the 50+ people who attended the call).

Here's a list of the evening's speakers:

---------------------------------------

Let's bring it in! 2022 Zoom Summit

Welcome
Bob Vitale – Board President & Event Chair

Why Sticks for Soldiers?
Mike Voucas – Sticks for Soldiers Founder & Advisory Team Member

Common ground. Working together helping others.
Jennifer DeLuca – Executive Director, Fisher House Boston

What is sacrifice? A participant’s perspective.
Isaac Paparo – Staples/UMass/PLL (Whipsnakes) lacrosse standout, U.S. Navy Military Working Dog Handler

Can we make a difference? An honoree’s perspective.
William Kleinedler – 2017 S4S Honoree

Support our troops? Let’s talk.
Brian Lawler – USMC Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) & Founder, Pilot Law
Mr. Lawler recently represented CPT Torres in Torres vs TX Dept. of Public Safety at the U.S. Supreme Court. SCOTUS just recently handed down a 5-4 victory to Torres clearing the way for thousands of Reserve/National Guard personnel to have their day in court relating to discrimination against them by their civilian employers. CPT Torres and his wife Rosie are the founders of BurnPits 360, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting veterans who were injured by their exposure to burn pits, and Mr. Lawler has worked with them for more than 10 years on this issue, culminating with the passage of the PACT Act a few weeks ago.

---------------------------------------

We'll be sharing a recording of the entire summit on our website in the weeks to come.

[DMac]

Yup, that worked, thanks.
Donation link workin' like a champ.
That looks like quite a summit!

[ToastDunk]

Yup, that worked, thanks.
Donation link workin' like a champ.
That looks like quite a summit!

It was!

Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force were all represented –- and no fights broke out!