A Martinsville resident and Army veteran is set to undertake his third annual “ruck walk” this November, aiming to raise awareness and funds for Stop Soldier Suicide, a veteran-founded nonprofit dedicated to reducing military suicide rates.
Dennis Bender, along with a few Army friends, will walk 2.2 miles each day to represent and raise awareness for the 2.2 veterans who take their own lives daily.
Stop Soldier Suicide is a national nonprofit that is focused solely on solving the issue of suicide among U.S. veterans and service members. Its goal is to reduce the military suicide rate by 40 percent no later than 2030.
“What they do is they want you to ruck march and to raise money for the organization. So, the organization really just helps with basically to stop soldier suicide,” he said.
While the organization doesn’t specify that the 2.2-mile ruck walk has to be done every day, Bender said he made an agreement with people on his social media page that he would ruck march every day if they donated.
“It kind of has morphed into we do a minimum of 2.2 miles with the 45-pound rucksack on. The 2.2 signifies the 2.2 soldiers that committee suicide a day, then the last day of the month,” Saturday, November 30, “I do 22 miles,” he said.
Bender said the 45-pound rucksack represents what soldiers would carry on a daily, routine mission.
“The water, ammo, food, the body armor – that just kind of signified that. I just want it to be a challenge doing it a couple years ago, so that’s why I went with doing it with a 45-pound ruck,” he said.
Bender said he’s teamed up with the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department, which will help promote the November 30 walk and give him access to the Smith River Sports Complex.
He hopes people will go to the sports complex that day, “get a hotdog, and donate to the organization while we finish our ruck march up,” he said.
The route will take Bender and his fellow marchers from the Sports Complex onto the nearby Dick & Willie Trail, covering 11 miles in each direction. He hopes to gather supporters to walk the final stretch and make contributions.
He is “hoping to get people out to walk the last little bit with us and donate,” to the cause, he said.
Bender said he’s asked some of his family members to come and donate food for the event.
Last year, Bender raised the most donations for the cause and the second most the year before that, he isn’t an official member of the organization.
“Stop Soldier Suicide began these ruck marches as a challenge on Facebook,” he explained. “Three years ago, I saw it and thought, ‘I really need to do something.’ I reached out to my friends, connected with a few of the organization’s team members, and have just stayed close to their mission since. Each month they’d do something different.”
An Army veteran who served four years, including a 17-month deployment to Iraq, Bender is deeply connected to the cause. “I’ve known people who’ve committed suicide since returning from war, both within and outside the military,” he said. “One of the guys joining me has also lost friends he served with. It really touches a nerve.”
For more information or to donate to the ruck march, visit stopsoldiersuicide.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2205&referrer=mf%3A2205%3Ayou-share.
Those wishing to donate should contact Bender on social media at Facebook.com/DennisBender.
If you’re a veteran or service member in crisis, please call 844-674-1060.
