22 Challenge Raises Awareness and Support for Veteran Mental Health
Every day , 22 veterans take their own lives , a heartbreaking statistic that highlights the urgent need for effective suicide prevention efforts within the veteran community . 22 Challenge , an organization started by Tip McCurdy in 2014 , emerged as a powerful initiative aimed at raising awareness and support for veterans struggling with mental health issues .
Tip , a Marine himself , was inspired by the efforts of other other various organizations that were already working to combat veteran suicide . “ When I started , I only intended on doing one march event in Jeffersonville to help bring awareness to the 22 veterans a day that are lost to suicide . Initially , I didn ’ t want to fundraise , I didn ’ t want to see t-shirts . I just wanted a way to give back that was my way of doing it ,” he explained .
However , Tip was blown away by the impact of the first march . “ Everyone was asking me how they could donate to the cause , buy t-shirts , and all of that , but I wasn ’ t a 501 ( c )( 3 ) at that point . My friend was like , ‘ dude , they are trying to give you money !’ It was then that I realized everything that I had thought was wrong , it was all actually the right way to do it . So the next year we started fundraising and we ’ ve been growing ever since .”
22 Challenge has had upwards of over 600 people show up to their events . “ We do a march , we do veterans outings , we take veterans fishing … we ’ ve given money to counseling organizations so that veterans don ’ t have to pay their co-pays . We even helped put a roof on the garage of an 83 year old Korean War Vet . So many organizations , Home Depot , Lowe ’ s , Samtec Cares , everyone has been really good to us .”
Donations to 22 Challenge stay local in the Southern Indiana area . “ People have approached me about taking the organization to other states . I like it here locally , though , because I can actually see what ’ s happening .”
Tip doesn ’ t want to be the face of veterans suicide , he prefers to boast the impact that the organization is having . “ There are a lot of things that have touched me along this journey ,” said Tip . “ I know that we are helping to make a difference . Stopping one person from taking their life is a major thing , stopping all of them would be incredible . I believe that the number is down to 17 veterans a day … 22 to 17 is pretty phenomenal .”
HELP OUT
22 Challenge
22challenge . org ( 812 ) 406-9081 mywarriorskeepers @ gmail . com
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