Galaxy’s Edge teams up with Mission22 to fight veteran suicide. Here’s how it’s going…
If you’ve been checking in on our Galaxy’s Edge Fan Club—and if you haven’t, click here to join in on the shenanigans—then you know that in September we launched a campaign to help save veteran lives. Each day, more than twenty US veterans choose to take their own lives. Every man and woman who puts it all on the line to protect their nation is a real-life hero, and these brothers- and sisters-in-arms deserve our support.
When we reached out to you, the fans, about combating veteran suicide, the response was incredible. Overwhelming. Here are some of the comments we received on our Facebook page:
“My father dealt with PTSD for nearly forty years in silence. It was only in the last five years of his life that he just began to open up about it and not only sought help but tried to help others. I make regular donations to disabled veterans’ organizations in his name and will continue to do so for as long as I have an income.” – Steve Condrey
“Lost a really good friend, and fellow veteran, to suicide. I don’t talk about it often. This makes me love GE even more. It means a lot that you guys have taken the time to do something like this!” – Brandon Mikula
“As a vet that is dealing with his own demons, I am absolutely on board with anything dealing with Veteran Suicide Awareness. That’s so cool that you guys are wanting to do something to support that. Whatever you guys are doing then I am in.” – RJ Beem
After reading these comments and more, we knew we were onto something.
So Jason and a team of vets researched charities and eventually settled on Mission 22. This organization provides treatment programs to veterans struggling with PTSD, helps build veteran memorials, and raises public awareness about the suicide epidemic. After meeting with the Mission 22 crew, it was clear to us that this team understood the despair vets face and the terrible pain caused by the loss of a loved one. They had effective plans to save lives, and were putting those plans into action.
On August 28th, we sent out an announcement. For the month of September, we’d be selling exclusive items on the Galaxy’s Edge website to support Mission 22, and donating 22% of all proceeds from other items sold on the website. The alert went out and, Oba, did you respond! Readers stepped up and ordered multiple special items. Some left substantial donations. We’re a little over a week into the campaign, and the outflow of love from the fans has been amazing. It’s a reminder that Galaxy’s Edge isn’t just a military sci-fi series, it’s a community. And to see that community come together the way it has is inspiring. So thank YOU for all of your support. You didn’t forget nothin’.