We’re a group of people from East Hampton, New York who wanted to make some gesture towards the members of our armed forces who have sacrificed so much for us. This winter we held two benefit concerts to raise money for soldiers on Long Island who had been severely wounded overseas. One of us, Chris Carney, then volunteered to cycle across the United States to help raise money for – and consciousness about – these brave soldiers.

Through these soldiers we found out about the Wounded Warrior Project of the non-profit United Spinal Associates. United Spinal has been helping disabled vets for over 50 years. John Melia, a dedicated former soldier who was severley injured serving his country in Somalia, heads up their Wounded Warrior Project. In early May we traveled to Walter Reed Hospital and visited with about fifteen severely wounded soldiers. We learned about the needs of their families and found out how The Wounded Warrior Project is helping to address them.

Over the next few months we’ll be holding fundraisers and town meetings to help raise money for these men and women. We hope to get support from the people and businesses in towns along Chris’s Route. Some of the disables veterans plan to ride a short distance with Chris along the route.

There are costs associated with Soldier Ride, but we guarantee that no less than 80% of the money we raise will go directly to the soldiers or their families. The more we raise, the greater the amount that will go to the soldiers, as most of our costs are fixed. We have met with the United Spinal Association which has guaranteed where will be no additional administrative costs on their end. The money will go to purchased Wounded Warrior backpacks that are given to the wounded soldiers when they arrive at hospitals in the United States. Their backpacks contain clothing, toilletries, a CD player and other personal items. Other funds will go to help families fly in and visit their injured loved ones. Ultimately we hope to raise money that will provide job placement for these men and women who can't pursue their intended careers due to their injuries. We are using personal funds to launch the project. We will post all the money raised and the costs associated with out campaign in this section and update it periodically. Our goals it to
raise at least one million dollars.

The projected budget outlines below would allow United Spinal to provide a full range of transition assistance to1800 service members and 800 families.

Annual Wounded Warrior Budget