![\"Greg](\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/paddlingpatriots.jpg\")
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By Jeff Wilson<\/p>\n
Greg Nejmanowski\u2019s expedition down the Mississippi River is about to begin. Weather-permitting, he\u2019ll drop his canoe into the Minnesota headwaters of the world\u2019s third-largest river on May 24.<\/p>\n
This Paddle for Patriots trip will act as a fundraiser and awareness campaign for Touch of Nature\u2019s Veteran Adventures program. Donations can be made by visiting the Paddle for Patriots SalukiFunder page at https:\/\/salukifunder.siu.edu\/project\/15565<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project has been my baby,\u201d said Nejmanowski, an SIU alumnus, Touch of Nature graduate assistant and Veteran Adventures coordinator. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been a lot of work, but I think it\u2019ll be worth it and then some.\u201d<\/p>\n Veteran Adventures offers outdoor activities to post-9\/11 veterans, including hunting, hiking, backpacking trips, whitewater rafting and more. The program is funded through grants and private donations, and it just recently lost a large state grant.<\/p>\n The 2,300-mile trip down the mighty Mississippi will begin in Itasca State Park in Minnesota and end in the Gulf of Mexico. Nejmanowski expects it to take between two and three months to complete.<\/p>\n There are two planned events happening along the way.<\/p>\n The first will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 6 at The Loading Dock in Grafton, just north of St. Louis. There will be food and drink for sale and raffles, including a free chance at a Discovery Flight, which allows participants to briefly take the controls of an in-flight airplane.<\/p>\n The second will be from noon to 3 p.m. June 13 at Devil\u2019s Backbone Park. Nejmanowski said he\u2019s still working on having food provided, but the same raffle opportunities will be available.<\/p>\n Between these planned events and less formal stops along the way, Nejmanowski hopes he can raise awareness not only of Veteran Adventures, but of the needs to veterans everywhere, including the scourge of veteran suicides.<\/p>\n According to a 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, an average of 20 veterans die each day from suicide. That\u2019s approximately double the suicide rate of non-veterans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know from anecdotal evidence how going outside can help you,\u201d Nejmanowski said. \u201cI feel like sometimes medicine has advanced and progressed so far that we have left nature — some of the best medicine in the world — behind.\u201d<\/p>\n To get involved or support the trip directly, send an email to paddle4patriots@gmail.com<\/a>. To learn more about Veteran Adventures visit, ton.siu.edu\/program-areas\/veteran-adventures<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jeff Wilson Greg Nejmanowski\u2019s expedition down the Mississippi River is about to begin. Weather-permitting, he\u2019ll drop his canoe into the Minnesota headwaters of the world\u2019s third-largest river on May 24. This Paddle for Patriots trip will act as a fundraiser and awareness campaign for Touch of Nature\u2019s Veteran Adventures program. Donations can be made … Continue reading 150 Stories of Philanthropy: Grad assistant\u2019s canoe trip down Mississippi to begin this weekend<\/span>