PVR Bulletin – May 2021

Florida Legion Riders… The Road to #EndVeteranSuicide!

For the entire month of April, the Florida Legion Riders fully devote themselves to support PROJECT: VetRelief’s Suicide Prevention Initiative through their Round Robin. Riders are encouraged to join forces to rack up miles as they ride to End Veteran Suicide. All their efforts are translated into a pointing system to award the Top District with the coveted trophy.

As a part of that event, over 160 Legion Riders signed up to attend a week-long motorcycle ride called the Unity Ride. They divided into two groups, or routes, to cover as much ground as possible. They explored Florida’s less traveled roads and each Rider logged over 1,000 miles. Along the way, nearly 40 American Legion Posts opened their doors to allow them to rest, eat and contributed to their cause.

At the end of the week, both routes met at American Legion Post 10 in Kissimmee, FL to celebrate their accomplishments at the State Rally. Other Riders joined in their celebration for a full day of music, food and fun!

ALR Chairman and PVR Board Vice President, Jim Wineland, set a goal to raise more than the $60,000 they received during last year’s virtual event. We are still tallying the results from all their hard work, but we can officially say they have more than surpassed that mark!!

Both routes found ways to raise additional cash by doing things like engaging in friendly bidding wars for the “It’s Jim’s Fault” patches, or we even heard there were pushup contests.

The Florida American Legion Riders have been one of PROJECT: VetRelief’s largest supporters throughout the years and have always taken on any challenge, or competition, to support veterans in any capacity. We certainly are grateful for all their hard work and dedication they continually provide for our veteran community!

And, although their motto is “For the Cause, Not the Applause”, we think they truly deserve a standing ovation for what they have been able to accomplish!!

DONATE NOW: http://bit.ly/URdonate

 

Department Convention… Getting Back to “Normal”

During the upcoming American Legion, Department of Florida Convention in July, we will be revealing how we will ease back into our normal application process, provide an update on our
program’s growth, and introduce you to our strategic partners through the Suicide Prevention Initiative.

The coronavirus pandemic has made things somewhat chaotic this past year, and we know that’s putting it lightly! Thankfully, our program was able to make quick decisions, adapt to the new
CDC guidelines, and still meet the increased demand of our veteran community.

As a result of that, we were forced to forego the VetRelief Advocate interview portion of the financial assistance process and our program is now facing a shortage of funds. As the world continues to open back up and things become more safe, we need to get back to our “normal”; focusing on our fundraising, and relying on our Advocates again.

Our VetRelief Advocates mean a lot to us, and we are so eager to see each and every one of you! Please be sure to be on the look out for our Convention activities, classes and presentations.

We hope to see you there!