5th Annual Run for the Wounded Raises $80,000 for Homeless Veterans

Veteran owned Nine Line Apparel and its nonprofit arm, the all-volunteer Nine Line Foundation, are excited to celebrate the fifth year of the Annual Run for the Wounded, the yearly fundraiser that support the Foundation's initiatives. 

“Our current initiative is to build a Veterans Village for homeless veterans right here in Savannah,” said Foundation founder CPT Tyler Merritt, who is also the CEO for Nine Line Apparel. “We’re partnering with Georgia Southern and the Chatham Homeless Authority to get these veterans back on their feet, and give them training to rejoin the workforce.”

The Village will include a self-sustaining aquaponics system, and participants will receive certification training in aquaponics farming.

“We’re giving them a home, and we’re teaching them a skill,” said Merritt. “It’s not just a handout; it’s therapy and job training that they can take with them and break the cycle of homelessness.”

Sponsors poured in from throughout the local community, as well as from across the country, and registrations for the race are higher than ever before. Some top level sponsors include Diamondback Firearms, International Diamond Center, the VFW, Fleet Feet Sports, Javelin PR Firm, the Georgia Chapter of the Knights of Columbus, South Magazine, the USCCA, Wet Willie’s, Stage on Bay, and more.

“Last year, we had around 900 runners and raised over $65,000 in sponsorships, registrations, and raffle sales,” said Nine Line Foundation secretary Ashli Clubine, who is also the Director of Public Relations for Nine Line Apparel and coordinates the race. “Our numbers are already way ahead of last year, and we’re so excited to see how much we can raise from this year’s event. We’re anticipating at least 1200 runners at this year’s event.”

Proceeds from last year’s race benefited USMC (ret.) Sgt Eric Morante. Nine Line Foundation partnered with other nonprofit organizations to build a 100% handicap-accessible home for Morante in Texas, which was completed on March 3rd. For this year’s race, they’re bringing their mission home to Savannah.

The Run for the Wounded took place on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 19th, at Grayson Stadium in Savannah. With the support of our incredible sponsors, over 1400 runners, and over 300 virtual runners, we raised over $80,000 towards the Nine Line Foundation's Veterans Village initiative!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event such a huge success!

To learn more, visit: https://ninelinefoundation.org/events/5th-annual-5k-10k/