Iraq Veteran Hikes U.S., Gathers Signatures for National 'Day of the Deployed'

/PRNewswire/ -- Iraq veteran Troy Yocum is beginning a journey of 7,000 miles on foot with a special message for the President and DC politicians from leaders around the country.

Crossing 30 states and 37 major cities in a sixteen-month effort dubbed "Drum Hike," Yocum will raise donations, support and awareness for military families who need financial assistance. He will also carry with him a Louisville Slugger baseball bat adorned with the signatures of hundreds of mayors and dozens of governors who are urging the president to declare a "National Day of the Deployed" to honor the sacrifices of military families in this time of war.

Yesterday, Yocum procured the signature of Louisville's Mayor Jerry Abramson. He will add eight more Kentucky mayors and the state's governor during the first two weeks of his hike. Forty-two additional mayors and governors have expressed an interest in adding their signatures during the hike, and hundreds more are expected. Yocum will present the bat to the White House at the conclusion of his hike.

Other events associated with the Drum Hike will span the nation, including motorcycle rallies, a Blue Star Mothers convention, mini marathons, concerts, a skydiver and the largest American flag to trail a licensed vehicle. Yocum will also participate in baseball-related patriotic activities at 20 stadiums, and attend ceremonies to rename highways for fallen heroes of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families through a wide variety of hands-on projects and volunteerism. For more information, visit www.soldiersangels.org or call 615-676-0239. Tax ID# 20-0583415. For more information on Drum Hike, see www.drumhike.com or call 510-305-0004.

Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Week

/PRNewswire/ -- The week of April 11-17, 2010, marks the founding of Paralyzed Veterans of America 64 years ago. All Americans are being encouraged to take time out of their busy schedules to honor and help empower America's paralyzed veterans.

With events and activities across the country and the theme Empowering Lives, Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Week highlights the unique challenges facing veterans with spinal cord injury/dysfunction. It spotlights the work of Paralyzed Veterans to empower seriously wounded heroes and their families with everything they need to thrive.

This special week will also see the launch of Mission: ABLE, a new campaign that will enlist all Americans -- companies, citizens and communities -- to help our paralyzed heroes fully live the lives they deserve and to receive what they need most: care, benefits and jobs. Please visit www.mission-able.com for more details.

"Please take a minute during Awareness Week to think about the enormous challenges paralyzed veterans and their families face every day and then do something good to help empower their lives," said Gene A. Crayton, national president of Paralyzed Veterans. "From a community saying thanks to a paralyzed veteran who has just returned home from Iraq to an employer deciding to hire more veterans with disabilities, you can do something special to celebrate the 64th birthday of Paralyzed Veterans of America."

Paralyzed Veterans and its 34 chapters:

-- Fight for quality VA health care and ample military benefits.
-- Promote and provide wheelchair sports and recreational activities.
-- Lead the charge to make America more accessible.
-- Empower paralyzed veterans with the tools they need to secure good
careers, at a time when the unemployment rate for veterans with severe
disabilities is 85 percent.
-- Invest in research to find new treatments and a cure for paralysis.
-- Provide our services to all veterans and their families free of
charge. We simply couldn't do it without your generous support.


Sixty-four years ago, Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a band of spinal cord injured service members who returned home from World War II to a grateful nation, but also to a world with few solutions to the challenges they faced. These veterans from the "Greatest Generation" made a decision not just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society. They created Paralyzed Veterans, dedicated to veterans service, medical research and civil rights for people with disabilities. And for more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans and its 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all veterans, and people with disabilities, and their families, have everything they need to thrive. (www.pva.org)

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