Veteran Jason Aubry and members of the Jeep community are aiming to give back to service members in a big way.
Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, Aubry, members of his Facebook group “Jeep Wrangler JL-No BS” and Jeep owners in the region will gather at Yelm’s 507 Taproom and Fill Station for the group’s second annual Jeep show. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit the Montana-based Camp Patriot, a non-profit organization that works with veterans dealing with service-related disabilities.
“Camp Patriot is a non-profit for disabled veterans, and they indirectly saved my life. I was suicidal at one point because of injuries sustained in the military during training exercises. I found Camp Patriot and their testimonials helped me snap out of my depression. That has become my mission, to always help support them,” Aubry said. “I think it shows that we support our veterans. It’s proven that nationwide, 22 veterans a day die to suicide. I’m 46 years old, and mental health is way more in the forefront and in the news than it was 20 years ago. I think people are tired of seeing one veteran a year dying to suicide. One is too many. Twenty-two each day is super high.”
Registration for the event begins at 9 a.m., and entry fees for participants with Jeeps cost $10. Those in attendance can purchase $5 raffle tickets for chances to win several prizes including a $500 RPM Steering gift card, a $1,000 Steer Smarts gift card, a $1,000 Rusty’s gift certificate and a $2,000 Metal Cloak gift certificate.
The event in 2023 raised $12,000, including $8,000 from raffle tickets, Aubry said.
“It was a really successful event last year. We had 142 Jeeps, and 3[00] to 400 people showed up. This year, I expect it to be a lot larger. We have 136 people that said they’re going (on Facebook), and 516 said they’re interested. Usually, these events are pretty successful. I have pretty good outreach with the 4-by-4 community,” Aubry said. “Everybody said the event ran really smoothly last year. This year, I’d be surprised if we didn’t have over 200 Jeeps.”
Aubry’s Facebook group features nearly 14,000 members, and he said members are some of the most generous people he knows. Whether it’s through Jeep shows, Christmas toy drives, a birthday Jeep parade for a kid in need or a beach cleanup with the Jeeps, he said giving back to local causes is what the 4-by-4 community is all about.
“The Jeep community always comes out in droves and wants to support their community. We aren’t just a bunch of rednecks that don’t want to follow laws. We want to be a part of the bigger picture, and we show that, time and time again, with how we support each other and support our communities,” Aubry said. “This year, there’s a ton of support for Camp Patriot and for this event to have a great show.”
Aubry and his friend Brian Wilson first began the event in 2023 with the hope of creating an event that helps the community bond and raises awareness to service-related disabilities, which affects over 4.46 million individuals, according to Camp Patriot’s website.
“Just bringing awareness, and bringing everyone together to help for this cause is huge,” Aubry said. “I had a friend last year, he died by suicide, prior service, and everybody did everything right. He had mentioned it. They sent people over and got the guns out of the house. They did everything right. That person still, unfortunately, took his own life because he wasn’t getting the help he needed at the VA (Veterans Administration).
“This year, for me, it means that much more to make sure we’re getting the word out and that we’re not losing friends and loved ones because of something that can be prevented if they’d ask for help,” Aubry added. “I think the military community is a lot different than civilians. We’re a proud bunch, and we’re taught to push through and drive on. You don’t want to appear weak or whatever, and we need to get these veterans’ mindsets to where asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.”
For more information about Camp Patriot, visit its website at https://camppatriot.org/our-mission/.
