(WSNN) Instead of their annual flag football game, Wounded Warrior amputees and NFL Alumni take a stroll in downtown Tampa for a cause.
Some veterans lost a piece of themselves when they served for our nation. From lost limbs…
“A roadside bomb, and IED that unfortunately took my legs, and it killed my best friend, who was the driver,” U.S. Army veteran, Charles Lemon said.
To a piece of who they were …
“I am a survivor of a violent sexual assault survivor by another service member,” National Guard veteran, Stefanie Marvin-Miller said.
These vets need support, but there aren’t enough service dogs for vets.
“And I got rejected by about 11 different service dog organizations, and finally I got to talk to Sierra Delta,” Marvin-Miller said. “And it took about 40 minutes. That’s it, that’s all it took to figure out a service dog was what I needed.”
This is why BJ Ganem created the non-profit, Sierra Delta Service Dogs for Veterans. One of their partners is in the Southeastern Guide Dogs.
“Only about a thousand vets a year get help from service dogs or even other pet organizations,” Ganem said.
For the past nine years, he raised awareness through a flag football game with Wounded Warrior Amputees and NFL Alumni. But due to COVID, it transitioned to a little dog walk in downtown Tampa. They called it a “Salute-To-Service-Stroll.”
“I know we’ve got to be safe, but at the same time, we’re pack animals and we need each other,” Ganem said.
“Every person has a story, and they’re here for a reason, and we’re here to help spread that story,” NFL Alum, Mark Jones said. “So there’s no better way than to be down here at Armature Works at Ulele doing that.”
Even the top U.S. general in the Middle East came out, General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie
“I’m actually the one in the presence of heroes this morning,” General McKenzie said. “The wounds they’ve born for the United States; those things last a lifetime; they’re not a momentary thing. We should always remember that as we think about the cost of war and what these people have done this morning.”
Saturday, there were more than 150 people supporting the cause, Saturday morning.
Ganem says they’re going to incorporate this dog walk every year.