Run to Home Base Program

I am sure you know by now that I am a big supporter and advocate for our veterans and active military and military families. I decided that this year I will participate in the Red Sox Foundation’s Run to Home Base Marathon. (Ok all of
you Yankee fans, please bear with me and keep reading). No doubt this a HUGE challenge for me, since I am not a runner or a walker and I really don’t even enjoy running.  I have never even walked in a marathon, but this is an important cause that will benefit our veterans and soldiers and their families, so I am going to give it my all.

The Red Sox Foundation has teamed up with Mass General Hospital to provide
treatment for soldiers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan that are
suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Traumatic Brain Injury. The Home Base Program is the model program in the United States for a public-private collaboration. It is estimated that 30% of those who served or are serving suffer from PTSD/TBI. There is a lack of trained medical professionals who are equipped to treat our soldiers with these types of illnesses. The Home Base Program also provides training and educational support to healthcare professionals across the United States in these areas. 

We need to start thinking outside of the box and be inventive to make sure our
veterans and soldiers receive all the care they need. They have unselfishly served our country and made sacrifices to protect us; we now need to provide for them.  We need to build partnerships with organizations that will provide much needed services to our military. Of course, in order to fund programs like these, there is a need for financial support. One way they raise funds is the Run to Home Base Marathon.

This May, 4,000 runners and walkers along with 500 active duty military will take to the streets of Boston to raise money for this cause and represent all of our soldiers. Our family and friends will be waiting in the stands of Fenway Park for us to cross (hopefully I will still be moving at this point) home base.  As I push myself through this challenge I will remember all of our veterans and soldiers who have pushed their own limits for my benefit. 

Please come out and support this cause at the American Legion Auxiliary’s Pasta Dinner Fundraiser on Saturday, April 14, from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person; kids ages 6-11, $5 and kids under 5 are free.  All proceeds will go to the Run to the Home Base Program.

For more information on the Run to Home Base Program please visit  www.runtohomebase.org/runtohomebase/lizwhitney.