Operation Run For Their Lives

My name is Sean Stokes and I’m a United States Air Force Veteran. I am running to raise awareness and funding to help my fellow Veterans and First Responders who suffer from PTS, SDA and help stop suicide rates across the board. I’m excited to take my love of running and use it to raise money for the Bravo Alpha® Foundation (BAF), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit.

On 4 - 5 February 2023, I will be one of the individuals competing and racing in the Rocky Raccoon 100-mile endurance trail race that takes place at Huntsville State Park in Huntsville, Texas just north of Houston.

My financial goal listed above of $22,776 is not an arbitrary number. No, that is $2 for Veteran that committed suicide last year in 2022! As if that number isn’t high enough alone, it doesn’t include the ever-elusive number of suicides committed by First Responders in 2022.

I’m asking to you to please consider pledging your support anywhere in the amount of $0.05 - $0.25 per mile. If you can’t contribute financially, then I’m asking for your nonmonetary support and humbly request you share this campaign liberally (OperationRFTL.com) with all your friends, family, coworkers, etc.

Staff from BAF will be on site, crewing, pacing, documenting and providing updates on my progress leading up to and the day of the event. I’ll also be webcasting as much as possible on the BAF and personal Facebook page so you can follow along on my progress during the event.

This fundraiser is to raise money for the BAF nonprofit whose mission is to support Veterans and First Responders in their efforts to recover from Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and prevent Self Destructive Actions (SDA). In 2007 the Veterans Administration (VA) published a report that stated that Veterans are killing themselves at a rate of 22 per day. Since that time the statistics have changed and in 2019 the VA updated their report and announced the number is now 31.2 suicides per day. That means 1 Veteran is killing themselves every 40 minutes!

BAF defines First Responders as police, fire fighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. Many Veterans that leave active duty in the military find a lot of familiarity in the domestic uniform services of First Responders. There is no overarching organization that governs First Responders nationwide. Statistics on First Responder suicides are highly under reported. However, through research the following statement is true… there are more First Responders that die by their own hand than in the line of duty! Think about that for a minute, it is a staggering fact.

This is an epidemic of epic proportions and we are asking for your monetary and non-financial support. The scars of our Veterans and First Responders may not be visible but the pain is real. This is OUR pain; this is YOUR pain and TOGETHER we can turn these obstacles from an obstruction to “The Way.”

You can find out more about

Bravo Alpha® Foundation and the work they do by visiting them online at https://bravoalpha.org/

-Note: This website from Pledge It has been generous enough to let us use their platform for free. If you decided to pledge your financial support, you’ll be asked if you want to provide a contribution to them as well. This is strictly up to you but please understand that BAF doesn’t receive any of this tipped amount and all of the tipped funds goes to Pledge It. Pledge It has been used by other notable nonprofits like St. Jude, American Cancer Society, etc. We appreciate Pledge It’s support and your understanding.