RJ’s Mission began as an idea to help serve and support our veterans, service members, first responders, and their families. One day, the idea came true during a phone conversation with a Marine veteran friend, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I figured I would start with designs for apparel, such as shirts and hats, to raise money to give straight to our local Lowcountry community.
Little did I know what I was doing and how to start a business. It is a continuing learning experience that I face daily with everything from social media to website updates to spending my extra time volunteering. But as time went on, things became more manageable with the help of many external resources I have reached out to. I will be honest, it has been overwhelming and stressful, yet my passion for helping is never-ending with ideas, and RJ’s Mission has progressed into establishing RJ’s Mission Foundation.
RJ’S MISSION FOUNDATION
RJ’s Mission Foundation is the next step to growing our give back, give thanks, give yourself campaign serving our Lowcountry veterans, active duty, and first responders. My passion is helping and supporting one person at a time. The process with RJ’s Mission only led to the foundation once I realized I needed it to reach more people in our community. RJ’s Mission is not about how many shirts or hats we can sell but about who the proceeds are helping. The foundation is the next step to raise more money to give back to the local Lowcountry veterans requiring food, clothing, and shelter. As I work to show what we can do to help, I want people to realize that you can help too. RJ’s Mission Foundation is more than volunteering or sending care packages. It is about our heroes’ stories and understanding to the best of our ability, their experiences.
I want to bring community education and knowledge about our veterans, troops, first responders, and their families and how their sacrifices affect them. I have friends with PTSD, and I constantly read about PTSD to know what it is, what it does, and how it can hurt those that I love in my life. There is not a day that I do not think about helping others. I may never experience what others live with or sacrifice for our communities or nation, but I know that helping one person at a time will only grow. Leading by example is another way to serve others and support them. RJ’s Mission Foundation is only the beginning of our journey to having an entire life of paying it forward and saying thank you to our heroes.