KENSWICK, Va. — Much like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, the 22Kill Push-up Challenge has gained traction within the fire and EMS community.
The challenge’s cause is to raise awareness of veteran suicide prevention. The challenge is simple: do 22 push-ups and make a donation. The number of push-ups correlate to the number of veterans that die by suicide every day, according to a study done by the Veterans Administration.
The challenge has become popular on social media, with individuals posting videos of completing the push-ups with hashtags like #22Kill and #Pushupchallenge.
American Legion Post 74 Commander Phil Grimm told WHSV the challenge spreads awareness on an issue that may not garner much national attention.
“My wife and I got this Facebook post from our niece … She was all excited and felt very patriotic about doing this; she was doing 22 push-ups,” Grimm said.
Dr. David Hamilton said that suicide among veterans is often related to trauma and war experience.
“The trauma that war leaves on a person’s mind doesn’t last a year or five years. It lasts a lifetime,” he said.
22Kill’s goal is to raise awareness and prevention on veteran suicide. They’re aiming to reach 22 million push-ups.
For more information on the cause, click here.