Welcome all to our website,
Rolling Thunder® Chapter 2 New York
was founded over 15 years ago by Frank Appice, some members from
previous chapters, and a few guys with the common interest of helping
veterans. Since that little get together in a
diner, Chapter 2 NY has grown to over 130 members, and we are
continuing to grow. Our meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the
month at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, 366 Watchogue Road, Staten Island, NY 10314 at 6:30 pm. Our meetings are open to the public, so come down
one Tuesday night and see what we are all about!
There may be a few misconceptions about
Rolling Thunder®, so I would like to address those for you:
-We are NOT a motorcycle club, nor have
we ever been. You do not need to own or ride a motorcycle to be a
member of Rolling Thunder®. You need only to believe in our cause,
and be willing to donate some time to help veterans.
- You do not need to be a veteran to be
a member. While we do have many Veterans, MOST of our membership has
never served.” We serve those that served”.
Membership is not limited. We have
Veterans, non-veterans, men, women and children. Yes, you read that
right, children. We have nearly 25 junior members, as you must be 18
years old to become a full member. Our junior Members are an
important part of our organization, as they will be the ones to
hopefully carry on our mission someday.
Our Mission Statement:
THE MAJOR FUNCTION OF ROLLING
THUNDER®INC. IS TO PUBLICIZE THE POW-MIA ISSUE: TO EDUCATE THE
PUBLIC THAT MANY AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR WERE LEFT BEHIND AFTER ALL
PREVIOUS WARS, AND TO HELP CORRECT THE PAST AND TO PROTECT FUTURE
VETERANS FROM BEING LEFT BEHIND SHOULD THEY BECOME PRISONERS OF
WAR-MISSING IN ACTION. WE ARE ALSO COMMITTED TO HELPING AMERICAN
VETERANS FROM ALL WARS.
Our membership is really more of a
family. We all respect one another, and we work together to achieve
incredible results for our veterans. Just a few of the things that we
do:
Our annual Frankie” Towkar” memorial
3 Boro run and after party, Held on the last Sunday in July, has
raised over $100,000 for the DAV and local veterans in need.
With our Rolling Thunder® Charities,
501c3 account, we have helped countless veterans with furniture,
wheelchairs, ramps, repairs, utility bills, etc.
We are constantly fighting for
veteran’s legislation in the house and senate. We work with our
local politicians, as well as attend meetings and visit our
representatives in Washington Dc. Rolling Thunder® is not a
political organization. We don’t care what party you support, we
support our veterans.
We are currently working to help 1soldier1dog1team, a non-profit 501c3 who rescues dogs, trains them
and pairs them with veterans in need of service dogs.
Always supporting the “22 too many“ campaign. That’s how many veterans we lose a day to suicide.
All of this sounds like a lot, I know,
but with so many wonderful members, and with tremendous support from
our community, we get it done. “A lot of people doing a little is
better than a few doing a lot”, So please, I ask you to check out our
website and event calendar, come out and support us at any of our
many events.
Help us help a
Veteran. I promise you, you won’t be sorry!
See you out there!
Vinny “VINMAN Perno
