Friends, Loves and Unindicted Co-Conspirators:
This weekend, we mark the ten year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Many of us will, at one point over the day or another, reflect quietly on the events of that day and those days after, the change in America's tenor and the lives lost in New York, in Washington, D.C. and in rural Pennsylvania.
Since that time, we've also lost more than 1,500 soldiers in Afghanistan and nearly 5,000 in Iraq. Daughters, sons, brothers, sisters.
And parents.
On September 17, I'm taking part in a fundraiser called Fight Gone Bad 6 that will help support, among other charities, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. It's mission is to send the children of all special forces troops killed in combat (like the SEALs who died in the helicopter crash in early August) to college at no cost to the child.
The foundation has already sent 182 children through college and has 144 enrolled right now, but those numbers will skyrocket over the next few years as the children of soldiers slain in our current military actions reach college age. According to the foundation, there are 600 kids of special forces troops who are currently in elementary, middle and high school.
I come from a long line of military men. My father and both of my grandfathers served honorably. I know only through stories what these men and women go through to serve their country. I'd like to help those who, as Lincoln said, “gave the last full measure of devotion” by supporting their families.
Of course, I understand that this is a tough time for giving money. We've all been, in one way or another, battered around by the current economic climate.
So, I want to make it easy enough for everyone to be able to help, by establishing two donor levels:
Buy me a Beer: As many of you know, I like beer. A lot. So, instead of getting a round the next time we go out drinking, chip in $5 to help a kid go to school.
Hire me as a DJ: I have several skills. I translate Hipster-to-English at a graduate degree level, I make a fantastic chicken piccata and, as a music writer, it's part of my job to expose people to new music that they might not have heard. If you contribute $25 to the cause, I will make you a 10-song mix CD based on a phrase of your choice (like “Hipster Bingo” or “Cliches are the New Black”), picking songs that match the theme and what I think you might like – or, at a minimum, not hate.
The link to donate is: https://fgb6.rapidgiving.com/frp/fundraise.aspx?pk=9Q3ELEF
A YouTube video from the last time I participated, in 2008 (look for me, nearly passed out, around the 3:10 mark): http://youtu.be/cMa8nZhEz6Q
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