Jake Welch has been a cycling road warrior for Team Hope For The Warriors for the past two years, rolling up thousands of miles and dollars for HOPE and bringing attention to the veterans suicide epidemic in the United States.

Team Hope For The Warriors provides athletes of all abilities the opportunity to engage their competitive spirit at endurance events.

Warrior Team members are provided adaptive equipment and race support to ensure that they are defined by their achievements rather than by their injuries.

Community Team members challenge themselves to raise funds for America’s heroes, set new athletic goals, or simply support our military. Together, these Team members are united by the goal to improve the rehabilitation of wounded service members and military families.

Welch is planning on hitting the road again for HOPE in the New Year, but this time he’s going to take along some friends.

“For the 2023 challenge, I’m thinking of changing it up again. Rather than try to do my own challenge, I plan to take a small number of veterans out for a ride from Northern Virginia into Washington, D.C., to show them the capital of our nation, as well as express my appreciation for their service,” said Welch, a veteran who served seven years in the Navy.

In 2021 Welch rode 22 miles a day, every day of the year to draw attention to the daily average of 22 veterans who commit suicide. His total was 8,030 miles for the year while raising $2,000 for HOPE.

This year, beginning on Veteran’s Day, Welch cycled 435 miles from Springfield, Virginia, to Jacksonville, North Carolina, for his challenge.

The starting and ending locations had special significance: Hope For The Warriors main office is in Springfield; Jacksonville is the home of The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Hope For The Warriors.

The 36-year-old’s four-day trek raised $3,800 and gained valuable exposure for the continuing veteran’s suicide problem with several media interviews.

And while Welch has a new challenge for the new year, riding with veterans into our nation’s capital, his objective remains the same: raise awareness for veteran’s suicide.

“The goal of all these events has been to do everything I could to show there is support for those in need,” said Welch. “It breaks my heart to think that someone who either served or is a family member to a service member feels so alone that they would decide to do something terrible like take their own life,” said Welch.

“I want everyone to know that it is OK to struggle. We all do but know that wonderful people and organizations like Hope For The Warriors are not only willing but are seeking you out to help.”

Don’t expect Welch to back away from his cycling challenges anytime soon. With every new year will come a new challenge, a new ride and a new way to help veterans. And expect HOPE to always be involved.

“My experience with Hope For The Warriors has been amazing. I still can’t get over how great the people are and how much they genuinely want to help service members in need,” said Welch, who searched diligently for the best charity to help initially and came up with HOPE.

“I was eminently impressed with the Hope For The Warriors organization as their charity rating was extremely high and their focus perfectly aligned with mine. I cannot think of a better fit. I plan to continue to find ways of contributing to their mission as the years go on and I look toward the future.”

If you’re interested in becoming a member of Team Hope For The Warriors in the New Year, visit https://www.hopeforthewarriors.org/sports-recreation/team-hope-for-the-warriors/

or contact teamh4w@hopeforthewarriors.org.

*For more inspiring stories from HFTW, visit our Band of Bloggers Archive.