A nonprofit that honors fallen military members and first responders is hosting its annual Memorial May walk in Annapolis Saturday. Carry The Load was founded in 2011 by two Navy SEALs. The walk around Annapolis will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the Annapolis National Cemetery serving as the meet-up point. The walk is part of “Memorial May,” an effort to raise money for service members killed in the line of duty and runs through Memorial Day. “Since 2011, Carry The Load’s mission to restore the true meaning of Memorial Day has grown into a nationwide movement that empowers friends and loved ones of the fallen to experience healing,” media coordinator Elena Ramey wrote in a news release. Carry The Load also includes first responders as a part of its mission, according to Stephen Holley, the organization’s co-founder, president and CEO. “It takes both our armed forces overseas and first responders back home to protect our families and communities,” Holley said. Since 2011, Carry The Load has raised $46 million, with 93% of funds going directly to programs for veterans like counseling, adaptive training, suicide prevention and service dogs. “Carry The Load first started out of anger and frustration for a nation that we felt had forgotten the true meaning of Memorial Day,” Holley said. “Since then, our Memorial May campaign has helped provide healing for friends and family of the fallen and keeps their memories alive.”
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