As an organization dedicated to providing scholarships for children whose parent’s life was lost in the line of duty, we are grateful to have members like Jordan Shoob on our team, who, at 13 years-old, already has both the compassion and tenacity to make a difference. 

Like all 13-year-olds of his faith, Shoob had the opportunity to choose a cause special to him to support during his bar mitzvah year.

“As I began to think about what I wanted to raise money for, I immediately thought of the military which my family has had a long and distinguished relationship with,” said Shoob.

“The families of our military veterans sacrifice so much and after hearing about the Children of Fallen Patriots from my parents, I could not think of a better cause.”

Bringing together fitness, education and support of gold star families, Shoob decided to ask for sponsorship as he trained for and ran his first 10k on July 4, 2015 in the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA in honor of the fallen.

Training and Fundraising for the Fallen

Over the course of two months, Shoob shared his rigorous training routine (and a little bit of carb-loading) on Facebook as he sought to raise $1,800 to donate to Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.

One post in particular demonstrated Shoob’s braver side: “Sometimes it's hard to find time to run because I have basketball 5 nights a week. When my dad told my coach what I was doing she said she had no problem adding extra running at the end of practices for me.”

From snapshots of Shoob hitting the treadmill to making calls to children who were scholarship recipients, it was clear that he was putting his mind, body and heart into making this journey to support Fallen Patriots a success.

On race day, Shoob went-full patriot with a star-spangled bandana, Children of Fallen Patriots t-shirt and two flags—one for the United States, and the other, his favorite charity. Daring to face the chill of the rain on Peachtree Road, Shoob blazed on by in a blur of red, white and blue.

Despite the weather, Shoob looked thrilled to be running as he logged each mile with a beaming Instagram photo.

Sponsorships, Scholarships and Success

Shoob’s project was a huge success, not only personally, but philanthropically as well. As an advocate for Fallen Patriots with a goal in his heart, Shoob raised nearly three times his original goal earning a total of $5,000 in sponsorships for his first 10k.

ith this amount, Shoob single-handedly covered the average gap in the cost of education for an entire semester for one deserving student.

We are honored to have the support from remarkable individuals like Jordan Shoob, who help us ensure that more children can attend college affordably as we work to bridge the gap in financial assistance for gold star students.

Thank you, Jordan and the Shoob family!