![]() by Skip Cohen I rarely know what I want to share in advance when writing Sunday Morning Reflections, but today is very different. Yesterday, Sheila and I attended an event that was new to us, and raised our awareness for an incredible fundraiser. The event was Hockey Heals 22. Every day, 22 veterans commit suicide. Joining the hosting team, the Lighting Warriors together with other hockey teams from the Tampa Bay area are playing 22 hours of continuous hockey, still going on this morning. They're raising awareness and funding to help our nation's veterans fight the invisible war of mental health that combats our country's heroes. The program kicked off with a few short presentations, but the most moving was the introduction of a dozen Gold Star families who have lost a son or daughter to veteran suicide. As each family of a fallen warrior was introduced and came out on the red carpet, I found myself thinking about their sadness. Their pain is unimaginable. I couldn't help but recognize their bravery and dedication to help fight veteran suicide. We were drawn into the emotion of the event as adult hockey players of all ages hit the ice - all of them sharing the quest to raise funding and awareness. Think about it - 22 veterans a day are committing suicide, up from 17.5 per day just three years ago. And veterans have a 57% higher risk of suicide than those who haven't served. They fought for our freedom but lost the battle in the fight for their own mental health! That's over 8,000 soldiers every year who we missed the opportunity to help.
I wanted to share one more sidebar slice of pride. As I've written before, our son is in the military, and today, he is a "full-bird colonel." His presentation was part of the opening ceremony, and while the acoustics in the arena made it tough to hear him, nothing changed the impact of seeing him in action in this community. Here's my point this Sunday morning: We all have our favorite charities and fundraisers we do our best to support. But now and then, a group of people come along to raise our awareness for another important need that's outside the mainstream of big-name fundraising spotlights. Sheila and I couldn't have been more proud to be in the stands at yesterday's Hockey Heals 22 kickoff! Wishing all of you a day ahead filled with love, peace, and appreciation for your family and the people closest to you. There's so much we take for granted, especially our freedom. Every year, usually on Veterans Day, I write something about family and friends who have served in the military. But the truth is, Veterans Day should be all year long! Click here or on any image in today's post to link to the event fund-raiser page and learn how you can help. Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world.
1 Comment
BK
6/9/2024 12:54:58 pm
Nice reflection. All the privileges we have inherited since the founding of the nation, were earned by the generations before us.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Our Partners"Why?"Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 130 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.
Categories
All
|