As part of the kickoff for our Gi To Sea Festival, we’re hosting a benefit rollathon for Growing Veterans. Growing Veterans uses farming as the catalyst for human connection and veteran reintegration, which has a powerful impact on the health and well being of vets returning home and the community at large. We’ve worked (and trained!) with many folks on the Growing Veterans team for years, so we can personally vouch for the good work they do. The rollathon will start at noon and continue until 8 p.m.
We’ll have a regular noon class, and then start rolling … and not stop until we’re done. Special guests and special events will happen during that eight hour period, so whether you stay the WHOLE TIME (you beast!) or just drop in to roll a few rounds, come train and support Growing Veterans. Their mission is to empower veterans to cultivate purpose and belonging by growing food, community and each other.
How will this raise funds? We’ll have pledge sheets available so you can donate funds based on how much we roll. You can pledge to an individual (for example, $1 for every roll Tyler Thompson completes), or a fixed amount. Bellingham BJJ is matching donations up to $500 and a Growing Veterans board member will match up to $1000. You can also donate to Growing Veterans directly online!
We’ll have pledge sheets at the academy, or you can download this one and give it to Jeff. Representatives from Growing Veterans will also be coming by to help and answer any questions you have. Looking forward to this as the first event in our four-day Gi to Sea festival!
