By Eric Thomas
A local active-duty U.S. Marine will be hosting a fundraiser to go toward her running in the 2025 Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025. The marathon runner and fundraising sponsor is Brennan Barrett.
Barrett is originally from Waverly. She joined the Marines 7 years ago and she is currently stationed with Recruiting Station Indianapolis. “I chose to raise these funds for this organization because I have for a long time used my running in a way to raise awareness and help those who need it the most,” said Barrett.
“When I was a senior in 2013, I ran my first 26.2 in honor of the victims of the Boston bombings.” She ran 13.1 miles down Route 104 from her house to 155 and back. Her mom, Angela Schneider, followed her in her car for most of it. Schneider is assisting Barrett in putting this fundraiser together.
The event, The Warm-Up for Semper Fi & America’s Fund, will be held on Saturday, December 7 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Morgan County VFW Post 1379, located at 903 VFW Ln. in Jacksonville.
“The Warm-Up” will include an assortment of homemade soups, rolls, drinks and baked goods.
In addition to all of the food items, there will be a 50-50 drawing plus a silent auction, which includes many items such as military memorabilia (including items from the USS Arizona Memorial), autographed sporting items, professional sporting tickets, gift cards to various local merchants and many outdoor items.
In 2003, Semper Fi was formed and in 2012, America’s Fund was started. They merged together in 2020. As of April 2024, Semper Fi & America’s Fund has assisted 33,000 service members, veterans and military families. The Fund’s committed volunteers and passionate staff frequently work through a unique care model that provides lifetime support to the wounded, ill and injured across the nation and overseas.
The Fund is dedicated to providing unparalleled care to our nation’s Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard service members, veterans and military families in order to best serve those who preserve our freedoms.
“Running for these organizations allows me to continue to do what I do to help people one mile at a time,” Barrett concluded. “This journey is all about community and coming together to reach a goal so much bigger than us.”
The cost for The Warm-Up is $20 per person, $30 per couple and $10 per child. Veterans, active-duty, and members of the police or fire departments eat half off.
Barrett has set a goal of $10,000 that she hopes to raise before the Boston Marathon in 2025. She has created a Facebook page for the fundraising event called The Warm-Up. In addition, people can donate by visiting the following website: https://www.givengain.com/project/brennan-raising-funds-semperfi-and-americas-fund-85328.
