By Emma Uber
Carmel resident Eric Donoho is coordinating an interactive and educational fundraiser to assist his fellow veterans.
Reach Out and Care Warriors will present the war documentary “MOSUL” at 6 p.m. Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at Flix Brewhouse, 2206 E. 116th St. in Carmel. It will be followed by a director’s Q&A with former CIA counterterrorism expert Daniel Gabriel.
The event is free, but all donations will benefit ROC Warriors, through which veterans construct and deliver wheelchairs to developing countries.
As the ROC Warriors founder and program director, Donoho’s story is a testament to the positive impact the program can have on the lives of veterans.
“ROC Warriors came out of my friend’s death. My best friend killed himself in January of 2018, and as somebody who had my own attempt in December of 2015, I could feel myself starting to spiral,” he said. “I had been on my journey of recovery for two years and I had learned that when something bad happens, you use that something bad as fuel to do something good, which reshapes your focus and your outlook while helping to do something positive for the world around you.”
Donoho embarked on a photography expedition to Nepal, where he found the Center for Disabled Children’s Assistance in dire need of wheelchairs. He began to research how he could help.
Donoho worked with ROC Wheels, a wheelchair philanthropic organization, and various psychologists to establish a curriculum to teach veterans to build and deliver wheelchairs while simultaneously addressing their own goals and fears.
“People should come and donate because this program is to get (veterans) back into society and to use the leadership and skills they developed in the military to help further our mission in their own communities,” Donoho said.
RSVP is required at rocwarriors.app.rsvpify.com/#.
