Help a veteran get a mt bike
Donation protected
Alright this might be a bit long winded but please read.
So this post is for the best Sergeant (Dan)I ever had the pleasue of serving with during my 6 years in the military and he needs some help with his battle with PTSD. Dan does not know I am posting this and he did not ask me to do this.
Dan seved 21 years in the military where he did 10 deployments which 8 of this being in active combat zones. In 2015 Dan was forced to medically retire because of some severe PTSD issues. Dan was not expecting to retire yet and was planning on doing 30 years if he could. So for those that do not know when you are medically retired with a 100% disability rating it takes the VA close to 18 months to start giving you your disability and retirement money. Dan was an active mountain biker but due to the unplanned retirement and no money coming in he had to sell everthing, car, bikes, hunting for gear and so on.
Fast forward to now. Dan is someone I talk to regularly. He is
Currently really struggling with his PTSD and going into a dark place. The VA's solution is pills and therapy appointments are very hard to get (takes almost 3 months currently). The solution he is getting is not helping and pills are not the answer. I struggled with PTSD after my last trip to Afghanistan and found riding my bike to be the best thing for me. It let me focus on one thing, it got me out of the house and made it much easier to sleep. Dan has expressed his love for riding amd has told me how much he misses being out in the wood recently.
Dan currently has no bike and is not financially not doing well so this is why Im writing this. I recently had a friend loose his battle with depression and I dont want to see it happen to one of the best guys I know. I want to get Dan on a bike again. I reached out to the Wounded Worrier Project but was pretty much laughed at. Seems they dont really want to help vets unless it gets them publicity. I have emailed every bike manufactures I could with the email addresses I found on there websites but have not got any emails back (im sure they get 100 emails a day with people asking for free or discounted bikes)
So this leads me to the point of this post and im brining it the the biggest community I can. I want to get Dan on an XL 29er as thats what he had before these hard times hit. I dont care if its new or used. I want him to be proud of the bike and it be something he will be excited about to help motivate im.
I want to ask you all for help. If you have contacts at bike company's, shops or anything . Im hesitant to ask for money but if people would be willing to donate I would set up a go fund me page. I just want to give this awesome man a chance to be happy again. I currently have 2 bikes forsale and plan to use money from that to go to a bike for him but I need help. If you have ideas, can spread the word, can donate parts, frame, or money anything helps.
A little about me. I did 6 years in the military, 2 tours to Afghanistan and 1 to Iraq. I delt with PTSD for some time but feel I found ways to over come it. Im currently a Deputy Sheriff and an avid mountain bike. I dont want this to come off as a scam or anything like that. If you need more info please PM me, I would be happy to show you my military ID and my LEO ID and badge. I truely just want to help a man that was my mentor and has given his shirt off his back to people that needed it.
So this post is for the best Sergeant (Dan)I ever had the pleasue of serving with during my 6 years in the military and he needs some help with his battle with PTSD. Dan does not know I am posting this and he did not ask me to do this.
Dan seved 21 years in the military where he did 10 deployments which 8 of this being in active combat zones. In 2015 Dan was forced to medically retire because of some severe PTSD issues. Dan was not expecting to retire yet and was planning on doing 30 years if he could. So for those that do not know when you are medically retired with a 100% disability rating it takes the VA close to 18 months to start giving you your disability and retirement money. Dan was an active mountain biker but due to the unplanned retirement and no money coming in he had to sell everthing, car, bikes, hunting for gear and so on.
Fast forward to now. Dan is someone I talk to regularly. He is
Currently really struggling with his PTSD and going into a dark place. The VA's solution is pills and therapy appointments are very hard to get (takes almost 3 months currently). The solution he is getting is not helping and pills are not the answer. I struggled with PTSD after my last trip to Afghanistan and found riding my bike to be the best thing for me. It let me focus on one thing, it got me out of the house and made it much easier to sleep. Dan has expressed his love for riding amd has told me how much he misses being out in the wood recently.
Dan currently has no bike and is not financially not doing well so this is why Im writing this. I recently had a friend loose his battle with depression and I dont want to see it happen to one of the best guys I know. I want to get Dan on a bike again. I reached out to the Wounded Worrier Project but was pretty much laughed at. Seems they dont really want to help vets unless it gets them publicity. I have emailed every bike manufactures I could with the email addresses I found on there websites but have not got any emails back (im sure they get 100 emails a day with people asking for free or discounted bikes)
So this leads me to the point of this post and im brining it the the biggest community I can. I want to get Dan on an XL 29er as thats what he had before these hard times hit. I dont care if its new or used. I want him to be proud of the bike and it be something he will be excited about to help motivate im.
I want to ask you all for help. If you have contacts at bike company's, shops or anything . Im hesitant to ask for money but if people would be willing to donate I would set up a go fund me page. I just want to give this awesome man a chance to be happy again. I currently have 2 bikes forsale and plan to use money from that to go to a bike for him but I need help. If you have ideas, can spread the word, can donate parts, frame, or money anything helps.
A little about me. I did 6 years in the military, 2 tours to Afghanistan and 1 to Iraq. I delt with PTSD for some time but feel I found ways to over come it. Im currently a Deputy Sheriff and an avid mountain bike. I dont want this to come off as a scam or anything like that. If you need more info please PM me, I would be happy to show you my military ID and my LEO ID and badge. I truely just want to help a man that was my mentor and has given his shirt off his back to people that needed it.
Organiser
Mark Zorich
Organiser
West Sacramento, CA