About 15 years ago, two former Navy SEALs wanted to commemorate the legacies of friends lost during service. In doing so, they ended up making strong inroads to include hundreds of thousands of the approximate 99% of people who never served.
The “Memorial May” campaign organized by Carry the Load has led to more than $50 million being raised since its launch in 2011. The latest effort kicked off April 27 with nationwide events scheduled through May 25, aimed to not just commemorate Memorial Day and veterans but also first responders and their families through Armed Forces Day, Firefighters’ Day and Peace Officers’ Day.
Stephen Holley, a former Navy SEAL and the nonprofit Carry the Load co-founder, told Military.com while in New York City kicking off an event that annual festivities began after he and fellow SEAL Clint Bruce wanted to come up with an event on or around Memorial Day to offer proper remembrance to their former colleagues.
But what started with a very small group of veterans and 500 or so attendees in Dallas, Texas, in 2011, has turned into roughly 400,000 participants showing up across the U.S. Today, there are 75-plus community events happening from one coast to the other.
“Selfishly, this started with a small group of vets that wanted to have a meaningful event,” Holley said. “What we didn’t calculate and really where all of our growth came from—I use the term ‘veteran’ as the 1% of the population that has served since 9/11—was the chord we would strike with the 99% that didn’t serve but wanted to have a meaningful Memorial Day experience.
“They wanted to come out and have fellowship with men and women who were honoring the service and sacrifice of good friends who died in the line of duty.”
Millions in Fundraising Towards Important Causes
Participants of all ages and backgrounds are invited to join and partake in local events, whether that’s by walking a dedicated route or trail in their community or fraternizing over refreshments, storyboards and photos of “fallen heroes.”
Carry The Load is aiming to raise $1.5 million between now and Memorial May to address challenges facing U.S. military service members, veterans, first responders and their families. JPMorgan Chase, the campaign’s lead national sponsor for the 12th consecutive year, helps underwrite national events and provide peer-to-peer fundraising that is given back to nonprofit partners.
Roughly 93% of every dollar raised goes directly to programs impacting active-duty service members and veterans, supporting efforts including counseling, adaptive training, suicide prevention, equine therapy, service dogs, job placements and career counseling, scholarships for children of fallen heroes, and more. Holley describes it as “a broad continuum of care.”
Events nationwide continue to grow and adapt, Holley said. For example, this year a goal was set to focus on building communities that through grassroots participation have been big supporters of Carry the Load for all or most of the past 15 years.
“I guess the biggest surprise that I get every year is the stories—stories about why these events are impactful to different people, obviously for different reasons, but more often than not through their loved ones who’ve died in the line of duty, be that in the military [or] in a first responder capacity,” he said.
Hearing those stories—we get hundreds of them year in and year out—are always extremely impactful and obviously make it very gratifying to see what we’re doing, and it’s why we’re doing it.
Holley told a story how in 2013, during the second year of the campaign, he and others parked a bus in front of a Navy veteran’s home in Congress, New York, about 25 miles outside New York City. At the time, they didn’t know the veteran was also a first responder.
Now, due to the campaign’s success, there are 300-400 people including mayors and council members turning out for such events.
Educating Newer Generations on Sacrifice
Holley has seen a lot in his years in and out of the military. He served roughly seven years active duty, between 2000 and 2007.
He grew up with grandfathers who fought in World War II. When Holley had the opportunity to play football at the U.S. Naval Academy, he took a recruiting visit and really enjoyed it. The rest, as they say, is history.
Post-service, he and his wife moved back to their hometown of Dallas. Holley got into the commercial real estate business, which he does for a living “to pay the bills.”
He has firsthand observed the changes within not just the military, but how active-duty members and veterans have been affected and required newer methods of care.
Holley said Carry the Load has always supported unconventional recreational therapies, suicide prevention, job training, assistance and housing programs. When asked what has changed most in the past 25 years or so, he cited one area that has resulted in a lot of attention.
“I think just from personal experience, the mental health space will always be something—whether it’s military veterans or first responders—that will be a need that I don’t see going anywhere for a long time based on what has transpired over the last 27 years and what men and women here domestically face day in, day out, from a law enforcement or fire rescue perspective,” he said.
Educating Newer Generations on Sacrifice
The fact that Carry the Load events are open to all ages and encourage a congenial atmosphere provides a unique opportunity for the American spirit to be epitomized, according to Holley.
He recalled receiving questions from younger individuals estimated to be 5 and 7 years old in the early years of the campaign. They wondered why people were gathering and for whom.
“An unintended consequence is the opportunity that we’ve had to show the next generation how lucky we are to live in this country with men and women who raise their hand,” Holley said.
When Carry the Load began, Holley had two children aged 5 and 3. Memorial Day to them always meant going to one of these events. Now, Holley has five children and the tradition continues.
It’s been a phenomenal opportunity to educate the younger generation on just how lucky we are and to celebrate the service and sacrifice of those who’ve died in the line of service.
A full list of Carry the Load events and locations can be found here.
