Courtesy Photo
Monika Garza | The Rider
The South Texas Afghanistan Iraq Veterans Association (STAIVA) will host a 5 and 22K Ruck March from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Brownsville Sports Park.
“The [purpose] of the 22K Ruck March is to raise awareness of suicide and PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] within the military members and … to educate the public of the importance and to be aware of the suicide rate among veterans,” said Yajaira Escobedo, treasurer for STAIVA. “Twenty-two mean it’s an average of 22 veterans that commit suicide a day in the United States.”
The military-style march will proceed from the Brownsville Sports Park to Roberta Road and back.
“We are going to start from there and then walk all the way over to Roberta, which is past Rancho Viejo, and then back,” said Arturo De La Garza, a member of STAIVA. “So, it’s a long ruck march but it’s fun because there is going to be members and leaders of the community and also veterans.”
STAIVA serves the community, especially veterans and their families through volunteering and fundraising events to raise awareness about issues important to veterans, according to the STAIVA website.
“We are a veterans’ advocacy group,” De La Garza said. “We pretty much do a lot of community outreach and a lot of awareness raising events.”
The event is open to the public. The participation fee is $15 for the 5K Ruck March and $40 for the 22K. The fee for veterans is $20 for the 22K.
Funds collected from the march will fund and maintain programs that STAIVA has introduced to the veterans within the community, Escobedo said.
“One of the programs that we have is a $250 stipend for veterans who are seeking work or who got a job and need clothes for the uniform or just to start working. … A second program, it’s a loan,” she said. “We provide loans for veterans as well for emergencies, such as if they are going through a divorce or they need to move out and that sort of nature.”
Participants may register through Event Brite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/22k-ruck-march-tickets-25140078652.
