11th annual Legacy Run leaves Indy Sunday
(Photo by Lucas Carter)

11th annual Legacy Run leaves Indy Sunday

The 11th annual Legacy Run leaves Indianapolis Sunday, setting out on a 1,300-mile trip over five days that will bring more than 500 participants through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia before ending up on Aug. 25 at American Legion Post 199 in Harrison, Ohio.

The USAA-sponsored Legacy Run raised more than $1.2 million for The Legacy Fund in 2015 and has raised more than $6 million for the fund since the first ride in 2006. The Legacy Fund provides college scholarships for the children of parents who died while on active-duty military service on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and for the children of post-9/11 veterans with a VA disability rating of 50 percent or higher.

This year’s Legacy Run will depart Kenneth N. Dowden Wayne Post 64 Indianapolis at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 21. On Aug. 20, Post 64 will host a kickoff event that will include an Operation Comfort Warriors donation of 300 MP3 players to Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center Indianapolis for its Sleep Therapy Clinic.

Another OCW donation of up to $15,000 will be made Aug. 22 to provide recreational equipment, health and comfort items, and repair components for the bicycle exercise program at the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Also at the kickoff event, Discovery Channel is hosting a special preview of its three-part miniseries about the creation of the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycle company. A screening of Discovery Channel’s original “Harley and the Davidsons” will be shown outdoors on a big screen at Post 64. All Riders and motorcycle enthusiasts will be invited to roll across a Discovery Channel themed blue carpet on their motorcycles for a photo opportunity.

Along the route, the ride will make stops at cemeteries, and veterans and military memorials for wreath-laying ceremonies, as well at Legion posts for meal stops. The ride also will take part in a building rededication ceremony at Post 49 in Tupelo, Miss., on Aug. 22. The post’s original building was destroyed during a tornado in 2014.

More than 530 participants signed up via online registration, while others are expected to join up with the ride at various stops. Group assignments for the run are available online by name and group.

This year National Headquarters has made available a sample press release that Legion Riders who take part in the Legacy Run can share with their local media outlets after the Run concludes. The sample allows you to fill in names, mileage amount, chapter number and the amount donated to The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund by the chapter/Riders.

For more information about the Legacy Run, click here.

For a map of the ride, click here.


Scholarships

Scholarships

The American Legion offers a number of scholarships and other resources to assist young people in their pursuit of higher education. There are opportunities for everyone, including kin of wartime veterans and participants in Legion programs.

Learn more