EFTA00676438.pdf

From: To: Cece de Jongh Subject: Fwd: St John Wounded Veteran Program Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:42:23 +0000 Jeffrey Epstein <jeevacation®gmail.com> Forwarded message From: Brandi Schuld Date: Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 11:55 AM Subject: St John Wounded Veteran Program To: jeffreygjeffreyostein.org Dear Mr. Epstein, I am writing at this time in hopes of drawing your philanthropic attention to the Team River Runner St John Wounded Veterans Program. Every November, Team River Runner (TRR) brings a team of wounded service members and veterans to the island of St John to camp, kayak and to find health and healing in the tranquil sea. Team River Runner is a 501c3 non-profit organization that relies on donations to fund its programs. We do receive some grants, but no state or federal funding. TRR was founded in 2004 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and today has 50 chapters nationwide dedicated to helping injured service members and veterans to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle through paddle sports. TRR began bringing injured veterans to St John in November 2007. Due to the high cost of the program, TRR was forced to cancel their 2009 trip. My husband John and I (both of us prior military with John being a two time combat veteran) met TRR during their 2010 program. After observing their amazing program, we decided that TRR would never cancel another St John program due to lack of funds. In 2011, we teamed up with fellow St Johnian, Captain Tom Larson of Sadie Sea/Love City Charters (also a 20 year Coast Guard retiree) to design and coordinate the first annual St John Chaotic Kayak Race where local St John businesses enter 3 man kayak teams consisting of 2 paddlers and one water gunner to battle in a series tournament style races. Teams are encouraged to fundraise individually to "buy" a head start in the race ($100 = 5 seconds). Together with the generous people of St John, we raised $13,000 of the needed funds and were surprised on event day by New York socialite and artist Lisa DeKooning with an incredible $10,000 check, bringing our fundraising total to $23,000. In 2012, we repeated the St John Chaotic Kayak event and raised an astounding $24,000 at the event. Unfortunately, Ms. DeKooning could not attend the race as she was off island receiving treatment for health issues. It was with heavy hearts that we learned of her death just a few months later. July 28, 2013 will see the event in it's third year. We are hoping to raise what is needed for this year's program, but in light of economic changes impacting the people of St John and the high price of WAPA bills impacting local businesses, we fear we may not reach our goal. The program in its entirety costs $50,000 for a team of 18 participants and 6 staff (or about $2000 per attendee) to travel to St John for one week. Airfare and accommodation make up one half of the total cost. Some of the remaining costs are offset by local St John businesses through in-kind donations of meals and equipment rentals EFTA00676438 during the program. Our goal is to raise enough at the event to cover airfare and accommodation as these two costs are non-negotiable and rise every year. I would like to personally invite you to attend this year's event taking place at noon on Oppenheimer Beach, St John, VI. We have three wounded veteran alumni of previous St John Wounded Veteran Programs competing in the race and waiting to meet the folks who have so generously sponsored their trips to St John. Food, beer, raffles, and live music will all be a part of St John's greatest community beach day! For more information on Team River Runner, please visit the website at www.teamriverrunner.org. For more Chaotic Kayak details, please visit www.stjohnchaotickayak.com. I sincerely hope you will consider attending the event and help us to reach our fundraising goal. Look for me when you get there, I'll be the one wearing the grateful smile. Best Regards, Brandi Schuld St John Wounded Veteran Program Coordinator Team River Runner, USA 5007 Stone Road Rockville, Maryland 02853 "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try." John F. Kennedy EFTA00676439