If you’ve been around here awhile, you’ve seen occasional comments from our buddy, Blanka Stratford. She wants to give you guys an opportunity to help her raise some money for charity while she rides a bike from Boston to New York later this year. I’ll let her tell you the details;<\/p>\n
This September I will be participating in a 300-mile bike ride from Boston to New York City as a means of generating funds for Housing Works, which is a NY-based non-profit organization fighting the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. The motive behind this cycle ride is not only to help the aforementioned group, which also advocates for health care reform, but to expand the meaning of “Soldiers are Heroes” beyond combat and reinforce the fact that service men and women are at the foundation of not only America\u2019s communities, but the world\u2019s. Although this initial charity run is domestic, \u201cSoldiers are Heroes\u201d boasts thousands of international members. So, in the near-future, I am expecting to develop an intercontinental merger of service members, veterans, friends and family members who are willing to not only share their thoughts and experiences, but who are also willing to take the next step forward in uniting the world through discourse and diplomacy.<\/p>\n
Within the next few months, I will be providing greater detail to the significance of \u201cSoldiers are Heroes\u201d and also sharing my personal experiences and setbacks as a combat veteran diagnosed with PTSD, an American citizen, a woman, and finally a human being who does not want to turn her head away from the problems our societies face. The bike ride sustaining the efforts of Housing Works is only the first step in transforming \u201cSoldiers are Heroes\u201d from a singular cause to a full-fledged non-profit international organization to aid those who serve our respective countries and to place these experienced men and women in positions where their voices will be heard. But I need all the help I can get. If you could pass this along to any of your friends, I’d also greatly appreciate it.<\/p>\n
Thank you for reading this and take care!<\/p>\n
Blanka<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, if you can pry a few bucks loose, send it her way at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"