Ten years ago Army Ranger Corporal Cory Smith was faced with an impossible choice. Stay a Ranger or quit and be a dad. He chose to make his transition from US Army Ranger to veteran and father the hard way – the Ranger way.
He elected to become the physical embodiment of a difficult transition journey by running home. Start point: Columbus Georgia, right outside of Fort Benning. Destination: Downtown Indianapolis.
565 miles.
Cory ran until he got a stress fracture, but he refused to quit so he walked until he got a bike. He finished the 565 miles. That was just the start of his transition. In 2021 Cory passed the bar exam and is now an attorney dedicated to advocating for those in need.
GallantFew helped Cory plan and execute his journey. The following year GallantFew couldn’t find any volunteers to run, walk, and bike 565 miles so we challenged people to put together teams to do what Cory did solo. In 2013, teams raised $120,000 in the first team Run Ranger Run. Now known as Patriot Challenge, participants have raised more than $2.5 million to help GallantFew document over 13,000 services to veterans.
As of December 8th, in 2021 GallantFew has so far provided 3,231 services to 1,165 veterans. These services begin with the GallantFew Azimuth Check, a holistic personal fitness self-assessment. Following this assessment, veterans have access to online and in-person resources to develop personalized plans for growth.
In 2019, GallantFew’s executive director realized that most employers have veteran-focused resource groups . Some are highly effective, some have not found their voice yet, and others didn’t know how to start. As a result, GallantFew helped start Brigade V, a coalition of representatives from veteran business resource groups across industry.
GallantFew’s impact is greater than numbers portray, and services are always free to veterans – but your help is needed to help GallantFew continue to lead the way in veteran transition.
Join Patriot Challenge! Start a team or join a team. You’ll have fun, you’ll build community, and you’ll help a great cause. Belong to a business resource group? Patriot Challenge is a great way to enhance your company’s wellness initiative by encouraging healthy activity all during February along with the satisfaction of helping GallantFew continue to do great work.
Below is a CNN video of Cory’s original journey, followed by a short video on Patriot Challenge.
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