Thank you for your interest in the Salute to the Brave - Hero Project, which is our way to honor the men and women who serve to protect us. below is some information on our mission to help those who have suffered, in one way or another, while protecting our country and community. Our hope is to give a little light in a time of darkness to these Heroes.
We put on many events to raise money for our cause to include concerts, truck shows, raffles, car washes and truck tug-of-war that brings truck pullers from across the United States. We participate in the annual Edison Festival of Lights Parade with a float showcasing our Heroes and our builds. We have banners on our float that have all of our sponsors logos. This is a very big parade (even the Budweiser Clydesdale's and Wells Fargo participate), with the streets lined thick with spectators.
We have sponsorship opportunities ranging from parts donations to monetary donations or even donations for raffles and auctions. Everything and anything is appreciated to keep this going. Our dream is to make this a National event and hopefully get a new vehicle to customize and present to one of our Heroes. Our website includes a link to all of our sponsors websites with their logo abd are advertised on our social media and event pages for fundraising, and we advertise events on our local radio station. We have been on several news channels as well as media such as the News Press and Hello Southwest Florida. We have started a YouTube channel to also showcase our sponsors and our Hero Project.
The Hero Project is an event that started in 2016. Family and friends of Jeff Kelly, known at the time as the Jeep Peeps, came to the shop with around $400 inquiring about a lift for his jeep. Army Veteran E-6 SSGT Jeff Kelly was injured overseas when hit with an IED, resulting in the loss of his leg and leading to many other medical issues. His therapy when he returned home was trail riding, however it's not something he could do with a stock Jeep. Linda and Jim, owners of Savage 4x4, decided instead of saying there was nothing they could do with the money raised, that they would take his jeep and SAVAGE it. Many fundraisers and donations later with the help of friends, employees and the Jeep Peeps, the reveal was made:
This was only the first build which led to several more builds for our Hero Project. In 2017 we had such an overabundance of nominations that we couldn't just choose one hero and we chose THREE. Veteran Jay Lamborn, US Marines and currently volunteering with Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, Joshua Golliher, US Army, currently working as a Firefighter/EMT and Edward Vuolo, US Army, currently traveling the country helping with disasters with the Department of Forestry.
In 2018, we took on two projects. First was the Jeep that belonged to Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller, a police officer that was killed in the line of duty. The family has the Jeep and wished to make it a memorial to represent their son and all of the officers in the Fort Myers Police Department, as well as K-9s that also died in the line of duty. We were also donated a Nissan Xterra that we customized and gave to a local Veteran, Thomas Fresquet, US Army, to help him get back on his feet and continue helping the community, which is what he loves to do.
We've came out of pocket thousands of dollars for each build so we're always looking for donations and sponsors to help give back to these heroes who risked and/or sacrificed so much for us. Please call us if you want to be a part of our Hero Project either by nomination, donation, sponsor and support in any way.
The heartwarming reveal can be seen below:
**Disclaimer** Please have a box of tissues near before viewing the video.