Thursday morning on FOX and Friends, Mark Schmitz, the father of fallen Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz whose life was sacrificed in the tragic Kabul airport terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members nearly six months ago, discussed his nonprofit The Freedom 13. Mark shared that in honor of what would have been his son’s 21st birthday, the nonprofit is fundraising for veterans by hosting a pub crawl.
The Freedom 13 Foundation was established with the mission of helping veterans and their families who have “sacrificed some if not all of their lives for this country,” and focuses on housing and the mental well-being of veterans. Mark shared that their goal is to raise as much money as possible for their nonprofit with the pub crawl at local bars and restaurants. They have organized the fundraiser so that donors can buy a drink for Jared of which the money then gets donated to the nonprofit. Mark explained that restaurants are free to come up with their own specials or use the one suggested by The Freedom 13. He added that the effort is two-fold as he hopes the event will bring traffic to the bars and restaurants while also raising awareness and funds for The Freedom 13.
With an overwhelming number of participants, that number is only growing as other businesses have reached out to The Freedom 13 asking how they may also participate in a fundraising event. Mark welcomed the participation of other businesses telling them to be as creative as they would like to be in raising money for the cause. Mark hopes that the movement will continue to grow with Americans honoring our fallen heroes and veterans across the country.