22 WOD To End Veteran Suicide Unites A Nation

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1st Annual 22 WOD To End Veteran Suicide

On Sunday, February 22, 2015 over 35 gyms and crossfit boxes participated in the first annual fundraiser and awareness event to spotlight that 22 Veterans are taking their lives each day – and that we need to come together as a community to change that number from 22 to ZERO.

38 gyms/boxes in The United States and Canada participated, covering 19 states and 1 province in Canada. Together we joined forces by completing 22 exercises, for 22 reps to complete the “22 WOD to End Veteran Suicide.” Several gyms held a 2 minute moment of silence during the event to honor and remember those Veterans who have lost their lives to suicide. The goal was to raise awareness as well as raise funds for the Operation Ward 57 Service Dog Assistance program. Each person was asked to consider donating $22 to the cause on 2/22.

The event was the brainchild of Anthony Droz and Ray Liberto. Droz & Liberto, both U.S. Marine veterans, have seen first hand the after effects of war and have vowed to do everything in their power to share the message that no service member is alone, and that help & support is available for those struggling to overcome the burdens of battle and service. They recognize that in order to reduce the staggering statistic of 22 veterans a day taking their life, that we as a Nation, both military and civilians, need to rally together to take care of each other. We need to raise awareness and understanding of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depression and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) look like, and we need to provide the hope and the inspiration, to ensure that when someone is having a bad day, the veteran and their family will have the skills and strength to seek the appropriate help and care needed. One day, one veteran at a time.

In addition to the awareness the fundraiser brought across the country to veteran suicide, the event aimed to raise funds for Operation Ward 57’s new Service Dog Support program. Research, and personal experience have shown that trained service dogs for Veterans can dramatically aid and assist a Veteran suffering from physical and/or emotional wounds. Service animals are trained to provide a variety of tasks and skill sets -including calming the veteran, standing guard, assisting with medications and medication reminders, calling for help in a crisis, waking a veteran from a nightmare, etc. The goal of the Operation Ward 57 program is to provide financial and material support for veterans and their service dog in order to help restore their physical and emotional independence. Services include assisting with covering costs of vests, food, training, transportation, vet bills, etc. This program also partners with several non-governmental agencies to help find and place disabled veterans with service animals. (Final fundraising totals will be posted soon.)

“As the workout came to a close I spoke about how the Veteran Community is broken and I feel it is going to take something more than individuals and single organizations with missions however great they may be to fix it. That no single Veteran owned business or non profit has the ability to reach every single Veteran and despite all of our great efforts as individuals were still losing 22 guys per day. Together as a community we were able to put an event on ALL OVER THE NATION at one time to raise awareness and at the same time raise funds for a new program geared towards uniting Veterans with Service dogs under Operation Ward 57. ” – Anthony Droz

Thank you to everyone who participated and shared in the mission of 22 to zero. We are extremely grateful for your support. We look forward to making this an annual international event. We will keep moving forward together until we can say that NO lives were lost!

Save the date for 2/22/16!

If you would like to support the mission it’s not too late to donate! The $22 suggested donation can be submitted online at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZJUJX7ADYP62G Donations by mail can go to Operation Ward 57, PO Box 80055, Seattle, WA 98108.
Funds raised will go to Operation Ward 57‘s Service Dog Assistance program, Tax ID 61-1521946. Donations are tax deductible.

Thank you to the following gyms for participating:

Scotts Training Systems	Chandler	AZ
CrossFit ETP	Gilbert	AZ
House of Crossfit	Carlsbad	CA
CrossFit SoCal	San Diego	CA
Signature CrossFit	Pico Rivera	CA
Crossfit Lemoore	Lemoore	CA
Alpha Obstacle Facility	Toronto, ON	CANADA
CrossFit 7070 (Event on 2/6)	Monument	CO
CrossFit Undeniable	Westminster	CO
CrossFit Johnstown	Johnstown	CO
SECT Crossfit	Uncasville	CT
Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department – Fire Station 50	Clearwater	FL
CrossFit Rail Trail	Hudson	MA
Crossfit Southborough	Southborough	MA
Easthampton Crossfit	Easthampton	MA
The Clark Crate	Gulfport	MS
ATP Fitness	Wilmington	NC
828 HYBRID	Marion	NC
Onslow Fitness	Jacksonville	NC
Southpoint CrossFit	Durham	NC
CrossFit 701	Fargo	ND
CrossFit Bismarck	Bismark	ND
Big Muddy CrossFit	Bismark	ND
Crossfit Orange NY	Goshe	NY
No Remorse	Watertown	NY
Intrepid Strength and Conditioning.	Warwick	NY
Crossfit Hamptons	Southampton	NY
Crossfit OKM	Gahanna	OH
Crossfit 1811	Astoria	OR
CrossFit Adoration	Bethlehem	PA
CrossFit Fidelity	Boyertown	PA
Warhouse Gym	Leesport	PA
Hybrid Elite Fitness & Personal Training	North Wales	PA
Crossfit Scranton	Scranton	PA
DK CrossFit	Old Forge	PA
Crossfit Asperitas	Myrtle Beach	SC
Lander University CrossFit	Greenwood	SC
Crossfit South Forney	Forney	TX