Operation Patriot
Operation Patriot is a NY State registered nonprofit organization that was founded in 2001. They have run and participated in a variety of events including the Operation Patriot Festival. Operation Patriot (the event) was founded on September 14, 2001 just three days after the attacks on our country. On September 23rd, (9 days later) the first Operation Patriot was held at Ontario Beach Park.
The primary piece to the event was an organized, escorted motorcycle ride that began at the Cycle Stop on W. Henrietta Rd. and proceeded down Rt 390 N to the Lake Ontario Parkway, to Lake Avenue, to the park. More than 800 motorcycles took part in the ride. The line of bikes was so long that they were still merging onto the Parkway from 390 when the first bike arrived at the park.
Once the bikes were parked, the first Operation Patriot Cheers to Our Heroes ceremony ensued. Sally Cohen (R News Entertainment Reporter) emceed the ceremony while members from The Gates Keystone Club Police Pipes and Drums (bagpipes) escorted the U.S. Coast Guard Color Guard that posted the colors. Following the posting, Diana Palotas (R News Anchor) sang the national anthem.
Guest speakers from the Salvation Army who just returned from Ground Zero addressed the crowd. Following the ceremony, the band Prime Time Funk performed. Proceeds from the event were collected by, and donated to the Salvation Army's New York City Relief Efforts - $5000.00 was collected.
The Operation Patriot event was postponed in 2002 due to extended construction on the parking lot at Ontario Beach Park (originally scheduled to be complete by late August) as the City of Rochester prepared for the Fast Ferry and the Port of Rochester. In 2003 the event continued to work with the Salvation Army and was able to donate $4700.00 to its Homeless Veteran Program. Once again it featured the motorcycle tribute ride now known as "Let's Roll!" - the last words the wife of Todd M.
Beamer (United Flight 93) heard from her husband. 2004 was a great year for the event and was the first year the event was "gated". The fundraiser once again featured "Let's Roll!" and included a very moving ceremony along with dozens of vendors and fire, police and military static displays. $17,000 was raised - the Salvation Army deducted expenses for its part of the planning.
In 2005 Operation Patriot coordinators expanded to help additional charities including those that assisted Fire and Police personnel in their time of need. Let's Roll! staged at Ontario Beach Park and culminated in Hilton at Monroe County's A.B.A.T.E. chapter at its annual Ride in Bike Show - 1200 bikes attended. In 2006 Operation Patriot Foundation Inc. was formed as it registered with the IRS and the State of NY as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Internal conflicts caused less than favorable communication between Board Members however causing the organization to re-group. Let's Roll! had a favorable turnout and donations were made to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in the amount of $5000.00. 2007 and 2008 Operation Patriot (the event) and Let's Roll! faced stiff competition from other organizations that began an emergency responder tribute ride of their own two weeks earlier and riding the same route.
As the 9/11 attacks were now somewhat of a distant memory, coupled with the other ride, attendance slipped affecting donations - about $3500 per year. 2008 was the last year of the other ride. In 2009, Operation Patriot Foundation put Operation Patriot (the event) on hold and organized another fundraiser Mission: 5 Gets Ya 10 for Homeless Heroes. This fundraiser was held at The Mall at Greece Ridge during the anniversary week of Pearl Harbor.
Mall patrons who donated $5 received a wristband along with a half off coupon for a pizza at Papa John's. That wristband became a universal coupon of sorts, allowing a 10% (or more) discount at participating stores. A number of stores got involved including Old Navy, Sears Automotive and Macy's who offered a 25% discount. A total of 20 stores and vendors participated.
$3200.00 was raised and donated to the Salvation Army's Homeless Veterans Program. 2010 was an exciting year for Operation Patriot Foundation as it added another fundraiser supporting troops returning from combat. A 5K charity walk/run named Trot w/ Troops was born. Trot w/ Troops was held on Sunday, May 30th - the day before Memorial Day - on the River Walk downtown. Staging and registration was located directly behind Time Warner Cable at 71 Mt.
Hope Ave — parking was allowed in the TWC employee parking lot. Trot w/ Troops features U.S. Military personnel lining up in formation and calling out cadence while on the walk/run. Organizers called the walk/run a March/Trot as it mimics the physical training troops receive in boot camp.
Members from the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard participated. Trot w/ Troops raised $1800.00 that was donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20's Mentors of the Veterans Court Program. Later that year, in December, Mission: 5 Gets Ya 10 for Homeless Heroes was once again held at The Mall at Greece Ridge.
A new coordinator took over and decided to limit the fundraiser to just 3 days as opposed to the week-long event the previous year. Although still helpful to homeless veterans, the funds raised dropped to $1200. Those funds were donated to The Richard's House - a transitional shelter for homeless vets run by the Veterans Outreach Center. 2011 brought much excitement to Operation Patriot Foundation. Trot w/ Troops was now in its second year and was, once again, held on the Sunday before Memorial Day.
The event became more polished and received very positive remarks from the community and those participating. The event raised $2000.00 but insurance expenses caused the need for 10% to be used to cover them. $1800.00 was once again donated to Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20's Mentors of the Veterans Court Program. Following Trot w/ Troops, Operation Patriot Foundation began working on Operation Patriot (the event) and resurrected Let's Roll!
for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. In addition to the ride, the foundation added two other "Missions" under the "Operation" umbrella. Mission: 343 was born as a one-time fundraiser in recognition of the 10th anniversary. 343 American flags were flown on eight-foot poles at Ontario Beach Park.
Each of the 3' x 5' flags had the name of one of the firefighters who died in the Twin Towers on that terrible day. Each of the 343 firefighters were represented. Citizens were able to sponsor a flag and take it with them following the event which ran from September 6th through September 11th. The other "Mission" of Operation Patriot (the event) was Mission: Red, White & Blues.
The free blues concert on September 10th drew nice crowds and was intended to bring the community together to celebrate the anniversary not only of 9/11, but the 10th anniversary of Operation Patriot as well. The tribute ride, Let's Roll! turned out close to 600 bikes and was once again escorted by fire, police and military personnel along with the Patriot Guard Riders. The ride once again stopped at the 9/11 memorial in Brockport, NY to pay respects and returned to the park for the Cheers to Our Heroes ceremony.
As a result of the "operation", Operation Patriot Foundation was able to donate $15,000.00 to the Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association for its programs supporting firefighters injured in the line of duty. In December, the third annual Mission: 5 Gets Ya 10 for Homeless Heroes was once again held at The Mall at Greece Ridge. $3500.00 was raised and donated to the Veterans Outreach Center's Richard's House. In 2012, Operation Patriot Foundation began its year organizing the third annual Trot w/ Troops.
Due to the strong community support (and a little help from corporate sponsors) the foundation decided to expand the event by adding additional locations in Buffalo, NY and New York, NY. The foundation also partnered with another non-profit in Philadelphia, PA to "franchise" the event there as well. Unfortunately due to an unknown illness in the family of the organization, the Philadelphia Trot was postponed but is likely to be held in 2013.
New in 2012 was the swearing in of new recruits at all three locations (U.S. Navy in Buffalo, U.S. Army in Rochester and New York). The inaugural Buffalo Trot was held at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park with its beautiful, military backdrop of U.S.
Navy ships and submarines. The Trot was well received and raised $1700.00 for the Veterans Treatment Court in Buffalo. The Rochester Trot continued to grow raising $2250.00 for the Rochester chapter of the VVA Mentors of the Veterans Court Program. The New York, NY Trot was held on Roosevelt Island which already had limited mass transit.
The F Train and the Tram are the only sources of mass transportation and both were interrupted. The F Train was down for maintenance for the weekend and the Tram was stopped over the river between 9:15 am and 10 am for a Hollywood movie shoot with actor Clive Owen - registration for Trot w/ Troops began at 9am, the run started at 10am. This was perfectly bad timing which resulted in a lighter than expected turnout.
None-the-less, the NY Trot raised $1000.00 which was donated to the IAVA (Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America) for its programs supporting troops returning from combat. All three events included stuffing care packages for our troops that were provided by corporate sponsor Crown Royal as part of its Crown Royal's Heroes Project.
The packages from both Rochester and New York were given to the Blue Star Mothers chapters in each respective location, the Buffalo packages were sent to the non-profit Packages From Home in Phoenix, AR where they were shipped overseas to our unsuspecting troops. As of the time of this posting, Operation Patriot (the event) which includes Let's Roll! and Mission: Red, White & Blues is in the works for September 8th of 2012. Following the event, Mission: 5 Gets Ya 10 for Homeless Heroes will be held in December.
Future plans of Operation Patriot Foundation include franchising Trot w/ Troops to locations across the country and expanding Mission: 5 Gets Ya 10 for Homeless Heroes to additional malls in Rochester and possibly Buffalo. Rumor has it that additional pieces may be added to Trot w/ Troops to further implement the military physical training experience.
Operation Patriot Foundation has donated to several charities that meet its criteria of providing direct hands-on assistance to fire, police and military personnel in their time of need. Charities receiving donations include: The Salvation Army, The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, The Veterans Outreach Center, Genesee Valley Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), The Richard's House, The Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20's Mentors of the Veterans Court Program, the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court and the Patriot Guard Riders Help on the Homefront Program.
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