Their service to their country may be over, but their devotion to their fellow soldiers continues.
For the past three and a half months, Sean Gobin and Mark Silvers, recently separated from the Marine Corps, have been hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money in order to purchase adaptive vehicles for veterans who have suffered amputations during their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“When we were in Afghanistan we saw a lot of young service members coming through the base on their way home with debilitating injuries and severe amputations and seeing that made me wonder what can we do about this,” said Silvers. “We wanted to give back in some way and it aligned well with hiking the trail.”
Gobin and Silvers partnered with Ride-Away – which is one of the largest providers of wheelchair vans, vehicle modifications, and adaptive equipment, according to the company’s website.
Each vehicle grant costs between $5,000 and $10,000, and Silvers said they will be looking to provide as many grants as possible. Gobin said they are working with the president of Ride-Away to help identify who the recipients of the grants are.
I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
Recent Comments