May turned out to be the #MonthOfKindness for Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation. From nationwide campaigns to local fundraisers, there has been an overwhelming amount of support for us. We wanted to take a minute to briefly reminisce about these events and express our gratitude to everyone involved.
Kicking off the Month of Kindness, St. John’s Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine, FL, hosted the Nimnicht Family of Dealerships Car in One Golf Tournament Presented by Lee & Cates Glass. With over $600,000 worth of cars to be won, this tournament drew a great crowd and generated significant donations for Fallen Patriots.
A “Raise Your Glass” fundraiser hosted by Campeche Bay Cantina in Jacksonville Beach was on May 13th, which is officially Fallen Patriots Day. Campeche Bay donated 15% of all food sales to Fallen Patriots.
Words cannot express our gratitude for what PepsiCo did for us this month. Rolling Remembrance was a 3,000 mile long American flag relay from California to New York. Twenty-two military veteran drivers exchanged the flag as they drove across the country to honor those men and women who have lost a parent while serving our country and to help bring awareness to our mission. Check out this slide show that features a few of their stops.
500 for the Fallen, a 5-day 500-mile running relay fundraiser, started in Concord, MA and finished in Arlington, VA. One of the runners, Colleen O’Hare, was featured on the Today Show. She is the wife of the late Navy Pilot Ray O’Hare and she joined the run in his honor.
Finally, with Memorial Day being the national holiday to honor our fallen heroes, Dino Bar-B-Q graciously offered to give 10% of all food sales on May 24th and 25th to Children of Fallen Patriots. To add to that, Splash Car Washes also supported Fallen Patriots by asking their customers for a donation.
There were even more events around the country Memorial Day Weekend in our honor, including Jacksonville’s pro baseball team, Jacksonville Suns 50/50 raffle benefiting us, BlackFinn Restaurant’s Freedom Bash fundraising event in Jacksonville, Orlando’s Viva la Margarita and Rocky’s Run for Freedom across the country.
Aside from events, we’ve spotted lots of videos on various social media platforms from supporters who are challenging their friends to “Drop and give me 10.” Using the hashtag, #DropAndGiveMe10 , participants are donating a dollar amount per pushup and then challenging three friends to do the same.
We look forward to seeing more of these videos as well as other fundraising events to support our cause. If you are interested in hosting an event or fundraising campaign, let us know! We can provide you with tools to help maximize your efforts.