Published: January 23, 2012
St. Louis Iraq Hero Parade Organizers Issue Challenge to The Nation
On December 28th, two average St. Louis area citizens began brainstorming an event so historic it would make national headlines within a week. It started as a Facebook group and has now become the first welcome home parade for post 9/11 troops in the country - to be held in downtown St. Louis this Saturday, January 28thstarting at 12pm.
Craig Schneider and Tom Appelbaum thought the least this city could do was say an official thank you to the men and women that served our country in Iraq. The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit organization challenging post-9/11 veterans to rebuild a sense of purpose through community service, jumped on board. Along with corporate sponsors and thousands of grassroots volunteers, it's full steam ahead in planning the country's first welcome home parade.
BUT THEY STILL NEED HELP WITH THIS HISTORIC EVENT. The Mission Continues, along with the grassroots group, Make January 28th Welcome Home the Heroes from Iraq Day , have already issued a challenge to the St. Louis community to step up, volunteer and donate.
They now have a challenge for the rest of the country:* Shine as bright of a spotlight as you possibly can on St. Louis this Saturday so that that every city in the country realizes just how important it is to thank our troops, and provide them with resources they desperately need to help ease their transition back home.
"After serving our country and defending our freedoms, the least we can do is thank our veterans and help them reintegrate into civilian life," says Craig Schneider, one of the leaders of the grassroots group responsible for making this happen. "They served us for 8 dangerous years, it's our turn to step up and serve them. This event isn't about politics, it's about people."
MORE ABOUT THE EVENT:
- The Parade itself will be filled with floats, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles, marching bands and a slew of entertainment.
- All entries are required to have a patriotic theme and all are required to honor a veteran of the second Iraq war in some way.
- A Veterans Resource Village will be available in Union Station at the end of the parade route. The goal of this village is to connect returning servicemen and women with people and organizations that will ease their transition back home. The Mission Continues will be one of many nonprofit organizations represented at the resource village.
- The group says it's working 24/7 on even bigger surprises designed to welcome and empower our returning veterans - so stay tuned!
General information: http://january28group.org/
ADDITIONAL PARTNER QUOTES:
"We have a long history of serving military members and their families, and we have witnessed the courageous sacrifices that these men and women make. Mayflower is privileged to honor their service in this small way, and we are confident that others in the community will do the same," said Melissa Sullivan, Mayflower communications manager.
"Budweiser is proud to join this effort to help organize a parade saluting our veterans," said Rob McCarthy, vice president of Budweiser at Anheuser-Busch. "We owe these men and women so much and it is an honor for us to join our hometown in saying thank you for their service and sacrifice."
Search News
