Nearly 200 injured veterans and their supporters will take part in the UnitedHealthcare Army/Navy Challenge, one of six Ride 2 Recovery cycling challenges sponsored by UnitedHealthcare this year.
The UnitedHealthcare Army/Navy Challenge begins Saturday, Sept. 26, at Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. After a tour and dinner at West Point on Sept. 26, riders will return to New Jersey. They will cycle from Fort Lee, N.J., to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Manhattan on Sept. 27. Their rehabilitative ride down the east coast will begin Monday, Sept. 28, with overnight stops in Princeton, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore. The Challenge will end in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, Oct. 2. To see daily stops and events along the route, visit https://ride2recovery.com/event.php?ID=710.
“The UnitedHealthcare Army/Navy Challenge helps support important health programs for men and women who served our country, and we are honored to serve them through this sponsorship,” said William Golden, CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s northeast region. “Exercise and rehabilitation services are critically important to injured veterans working toward a return to the health and well-being they richly deserve.”
This is the sixth year that UnitedHealthcare will serve as Ride 2 Recovery’s presenting sponsor, providing financial, in-kind and volunteer support to assist in the rehabilitation of America’s injured veterans. This year, UnitedHealthcare is the presenting sponsor of six Ride 2 Recovery cycling challenges scheduled across the United States and in Germany.
Nathan DeWalt is a medically retired U.S. Navy veteran from York, Pa. In 2008, while training to be a Navy SEAL and awaiting deployment to Afghanistan, he was paralyzed from the waist down when struck by a taxi as he was returning to base on his motorcycle. The accident led DeWalt to Ride 2 Recovery, and he has participated in more than 30 Challenge rides.
“The Ride 2 Recovery Challenge series has changed my life in ways people cannot begin to understand,” he said. “For me, riding with other veterans helps me feel like I am giving back to an amazing program that has given me so much.”
The riders share many common bonds, and some say the level of catharsis offered by the Ride 2 Recovery Challenges is unparalleled.
“In the UnitedHealthcare Challenge Series, about 70 percent of the participating injured veterans come through our Project HERO program,” said John Wordin, president and founder, Ride 2 Recovery. “There are 60 Project HERO programs at military bases and VA facilities across the country. Our goal is to establish 30 regional community Project HERO programs across the country that would provide a full spectrum of transitional, reintegration, recovery and rehabilitative services.”
About Ride 2 Recovery
Ride 2 Recovery is a groundbreaking Veterans program that restores hope and purpose, providing a way FOR life with Vets helping Vets. Their participation provides hope, renewed life and a sense of camaraderie. The organization provides impactful and life-changing experiences through cycling that have proven to improve the mental and physical health and wellness of our veterans. The programs provided by Ride 2 Recovery, a 501(c) 3, are supported by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information, please go to our website, www.ride2recovery.com
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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