VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Imagine climbing 1,000 steps. On Saturday, hundreds of people in Virginia Beach stepped up to the challenge in honor of a former Navy SEAL.
The 'Step Up Foundation' is an organization that has one mission in mind, to spread awareness about veteran suicide.
The foundation was created following the suicide of beloved Navy SEAL, Chad Wilkinson, in 2018.
After his death, his wife Sara wanted to bring awareness to effects of blast wave injury, traumatic brain injuries and PTSD.
Money raised through the Step-Up Foundation goes towards supporting research programs and treatment for this injuries.
Todd Shanley, a friend of Chad and Sara Wilkinson, says an intense hour and a half workout is completed by community members each year in Chad's memory.
"It's called the Chad 1,000 because one day, Sara walked into the garage and saw Chad, who was a man of many goals preparing to climb the seven summits. Sara found him doing 1,000 step ups in the garage, no music, no headphones no TV just him by himself doing the 1,000 step ups," explained Shanley.
According to the Department of Defense, 492 service members died by suicide in 2022.
The DOD also reports that 68% of those military members were under the age of 30
