Everyday my life is pulled closer and closer to #22KILL.  #22KILL has become an outlet for families and friends of who have been affected by veteran suicide.  These families pour their hearts out to Team #22KILL evoking stronger emotions that have developed a stronger passion and love for human life than I have ever felt.  I came back from our #22KILL Tour with a sense of drive that makes me feel more alive than ever.  I've completely inundated my social media newsfeed with this morbid statistic of 22 veteran committing suicide everyday and have probably lost many of my "friends" who don't share this common ground.  I feel so strongly about #22KILL, but I also realize that most people are typically on social media for positivity and humor.  Knowing this, I really do not blame people for not caring as much as I do about something I am so close to.  As a Marine, I see the entire veteran community and everyone currently serving as my immediate family.  I truly believe this. 

I had to ask myself: How can I expect people to care about something they are not tied into if I MYSELF am not actively educating myself on other social issues that I am not tied into?

How can I expect people who may not have any vested interest in something that I am passionate about to suddenly start caring?  There are a lot of passionate people who do good, but may not have had any friends of family serve in the military so #22KILL can be a rather foreign concept to them.  I realized that if I am going to push a movement -- "to honor those who serve(d) and to raise awareness to the 22 veteran suicides that occur everyday" -- to a much larger audience outside the veteran community, I would have set a precedent to venture out and find common ground among various causes so that I would care more about those important causes too.

For all my close friends and family, you all know that I have a genuine love for veterans, those still serving, my family, my wife, my son, and also my Ducati.  I've grown to realize that I have developed a profound love for human life and not just veterans.  With that being said, I've decided to raffle off my pride and joy to proudly donate the funds to support programs that solve issues for women and girls.

The funds from the raffle will be donated to
1) a struggling single mom
2) Genesis Women's Shelter and Support
3) Dallas Women's Foundation

Dallas Women's Foundation recently posted: "Only 23% of female eighth-graders in Texas complete a higher education credential within 11 years. Dallas Women's Foundation invites you to read the statewide report from Texas Women's Foundation and share it with others: http://bit.ly/1qwyWr3"


I am excited and honored to be able to possibly raise some substantial funds to support and empower women.  These are our moms, sisters, and most importantly children of God.  One team one fight.

If I expect others to care about #22KILL, I have to find reasons to care about issues that I am not affiliated with.  And for me to start caring, I have to educate myself to find common ground.

I hope that others will follow.  If not, the worse that can happen is that now I will be inundating my friends newsfeed with all sorts of causes. 

Semper Fidelis,

Andy
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