Haddon Fire Company along with student support from Haddonfield Memorial High School are conducting their final ruck march called “Carry the Fallen” of the year in support of Active Heroes, a 501c3 national charity. Events such as this are being held across America including Haddonfield to help reduce veteran suicide. The Carry the Fallen event is a team ruck march event where participants can chose between three, six, 12 or 22 hour long trails to set their own difficulty. The event builds camaraderie while participants can raise funds to help build regional military family retreat centers, the first of which is located in Shepherdsville, Ky.
The Philadelphia/South Jersey Carry The Fallen event will begin on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. and finish on Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. The entire event will be held at the Haddonfield Memorial High School football stadium along the track. Participants can choose to walk any duration they choose, but only those completing three, six, 12 or 22 hours increments along with fundraising at least $100 will be eligible for a commemorative Active Heroes patch. Several participants have already committed to attempting the full 22-hour duration.
Opening ceremonies will begin at 5:45 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial in the front of the high school along Kings Highway with a color guard from American Legion Post 38 and our National Anthem.
22 veterans a day commit suicide due to many triggering points including Posttraumatic Stress and substance abuse. Active Heroes is working to reduce veteran suicide with team events like the Carry the Fallen. The ruck march event has already had thousands of veterans, military families and military supporters participate who have been impacted greatly.
“When a veteran or military family member is struggling mentally, Active Heroes has a dozen of our team members wrap their arms around the individual,” said founder of Active Heroes, Troy Yocum. “The Carry the Fallen event is growing and becoming a National movement to raise awareness about veterans suicide. Team aren’t just doing something small with these hikes, donations are building a first of a kind retreat center that will be an ultimate place of healing for veterans that will last for generations.”
The Carry The Fallen event started in 2012 as a small hike that initially raised $17,000 for Active Heroes. Now in 2014, the event has raised over $300,000 for Active Heroes for the military family retreat center. Currently, the Philadelphia/South Jersey Team lead by members of Haddon Fire Company №1, have raised over $35,000, which is the second highest amount out of over 110 teams worldwide. Future goals for Active Heroes are to build retreat centers in several states across America to impact greater numbers of struggling military families.
“The event being held on Nov. 15 is very symbolic because of the close timeframe to Veterans Day. We have several members who are Veterans and this is just another way to give back to them and promote physical fitness among our members and other emergency response organizations,” said Brian Poliafico, Team Leader for the Philadelphia/South Jersey Team and Lieutenant with the Haddon Fire Company. “By coordinating and participating in this event, we want to try and help our veterans acclimate back into society with their families. This event supports all of our veterans and we want them to know someone is only a phone call away.”
If you would like more information on how to participate, donate or become a sponsor of this event, please contact Brian Poliafico via email at brian.poliafico@activeheroes.org
For more information on Active Heroes and to donate, visit www.activeheroes.org.
For more information about the Carry The Fallen event visit www.CarryTheFallen.org.
