I am so excited to be participating in a 10k swim in the 8th Annual Swim With A Mission! As part of this event I am raising money for Veterans and I will also be swimming in memory of a fallen soldier from NH.
US Army Sgt. Angelo L. Lozada, Jr., of Nashua, NH was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, participated in the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Hovey, Korea. He was killed during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq. I dedicate my training and swim to his memory.
Since being founded in 2017, Swim With A Mission has given almost $10 Million to service and support organizations that provide critical services to our Veterans.
Every year, SWAM focuses on important needs in the Veterans community and provides grants to worthy Veteran service and support programs. Each organization submits an application for a grant so we can consider how the money we raise each year can make the most impact in the community. The recipient of the grants provide services and support including mental health services, scholarships for children of a parent who died in service, taking care of homeless Veterans, providing rides and financial assistance to Veterans, providing health care services to Veterans, providing permanent housing for Veterans, K9’s for Veterans, and help with PTSD. Please visit http://www.swam.org to learn more about the organizations that Swim With A Mission supports.
In addition to honoring the memory of service members killed while serving, organizing a Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) Summit resulting in the Easter Seals Military and Veteran Campus in Franklin, NH, Swim With A Mission provides ongoing support to NH based service organizations that directly work to prevent and respond to Veteran suicide. In the War on Terror, 95 New Hampshire warriors lost their lives in service. In that same time period, more than 900 NH warriors have returned safely and taken their own lives.
My friends and family know that part of my life's work is to de-stigmatize the conversation around suicide, since I was personally impacted by losing my friend to suicide in 2017, the same year SWAM was founded!
Please help me reach my fundraising goal. Any amount will make a difference in the lives of Veterans and their families!!
Thank you!!