VETZERO: Walking Across America for Veterans

Some folks "talk the talk" about doing more to support our veterans. Well, Navy veteran Tom Zurhellen is trying to walk the walk this summer ... literally! He's hiking solo across America to raise awareness on veteran suicide and veteran homelessness in our country. The goal is to average 22 miles per day by the end of journey, to recognize a recent statistic from the VA: every day in America, 22 of our veterans take their own lives. That’s more than double the suicide rate for civilians.

VetZero’s fundraising goal is $40,387, which is the average number of veterans who are homeless in our country every night. Our ultimate goal is to make both of these numbers Zero -- and that's how VETZERO was born!

The journey started in Portland OR on April 15 and it will end back home in Poughkeepsie NY around August 23. Tommy will be joined by other veterans along the way, and every dollar donated will go directly to local programs in Poughkeepsie NY that support our veterans, including Vet 2 Vet Dutchess and Hudson River Housing. We've named this ambitious challenge VETZERO because in the end, that's our ultimate goal: ZERO veteran suicide and ZERO veteran homelessness in our community -- and hopefully someday, across the entire USA.

If everyone donated $22 to honor a veteran in their life, we could make a real difference in the lives of so many vets who really need our help.

Visit our website at: www.veteranzero.org and starting April 15th, keep up on Tommy's journey on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/veteranzero

Tom Zurhellen is the current Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 170 located in Poughkeepsie, New York. The VFW has partnered with local nonprofits Hudson River Housing and the Vet 2 Vet program. All funds raised will go directly to support their work in helping local veterans, specifically Hudson River Housing’s Liberty Station program for veterans, and the Vet 2 Vet Peer Mentoring program for veterans. You can find out more about where your donation will go by visiting their websites at www.hudsonriverhousing.org and www.mhadutchess.org.

Tom Zurhellen is collecting the donations in his personal account and when he returns home on August 23, all donated funds will be awarded directly to Hudson River Housing and Vet 2 Vet Dutchess at a special ceremony at the VFW when Tommy returns in fall.

VFW Post 170 is celebrating its 100th year of service to our veterans in Dutchess County. Commander Tom is proud to continue this legacy of service by starting the VetZero project.

Thanks for listening! Please consider donating $22 in the name of a veteran you love. Be sure to tell us your vet's name in the comments section, below! 100% of your donation will go directly to local programs, described above.

We hope you'll join us and help "walk the walk" this summer by supporting VETZERO!