Yet another group of charities is out supporting the men and women devastated by service in Iraq and Afghanistan. This trio includes Help for Heroes, The U.S. Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and the Royal Marine Charitable Trust Fund.
The first and third are British endeavors. In fact most of these guys are Brits, with a token Yank tossed in, maybe for the Gump factor.
Never heard of the guys? Nor had I.
Gumpathon. Yes, it is now a word, and this group is sponsoring a run from coast-to-coast.
Maybe Britain is too small, and we have better weather and better potential to raise more money. Regardless, organizers say they were inspired by fictional character Forrest Gump’s run across America. If you read their site, they seem bitter over media that covers the dead with little mention of those damaged in other ways by war. Apparently they’re talkin’ the BBC. We know the U.S. media exploits all war veterans equally and with gusto.
But we digress.
This Gumpathon 63 day trek kicked off in New York September 11 and will pull into Santa Monica Veterans’ Day. The route is taking runners across the lower central U.S.
You can go to the Web site and see their daily route.
The six male hoofers are raising money for heroes. Who’s a hero? It seems the most badly injured physically are the first for assistance. While their cause is noble, how well is the business (money) end being run? Donations are made separately for Brits and Yanks. The Brits are ahead with more than L70,000. The Yanks have raised just more than $50,000. I’m still curious about how the money gets to those in need.
Money and more veterans’ charities. These segmented efforts seem to hurt their cause more than it helps.