You can help too…

A group led by Marine Major Kalani Creutzburg and Staff Sgt. Nate Schoemer, in yellow from left, walk along Doheny Beach with a female bodybuilder, members of the Orange County Fire Authority and the Army in Dana Point, CA on Thursday, September 6, 2018. Schoemer, Creutzburg and the body builder are on a 215 mile hike to create awareness for the plight of homeless veterans. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Two Marine Corps veterans and a female body builder were well into a 215-mile hike — from Ventura to San Diego — to create awareness for the plight of homeless veterans, when they considered giving up after four days of carrying 50-pound backpacks and a large American flag.

“We had left Point Mugu, walked from Ventura to Malibu and were just hating life thinking we can’t sustain it,” said Kalani Creutzburg, a 36-year-old retired major. “At first, when you put that kind of weight on, it’s not a big deal but after 40 miles, we had blisters and our muscles were locking up. We were thinking of giving up.”

That’s when Creutzburg, founder of Cammies & Canines, a San Diego nonprofit dedicated to helping homeless veterans and homeless dogs, received a Facebook message from a stranger.

It was Ethan Martinez, a captain with the Orange County Fire Authority at Station 56 in Buena Park. “It said, ‘When you get to Orange County, we’ll be there to meet you and make sure you get safely through,’” Creutzburg said.

The next day, Wednesday, Sept. 5, four Orange County Fire Authority firefighters met Creutzburg; Nate Schoemer, a retired staff sergeant and dog trainer; and Stephanie Rowe near the pier in Huntington Beach.

“The firefighters immediately took the packs off us and started walking with us,” Creutzburg said.

Over two days, 22 off-duty firefighters from OCFA accompanied the group through Orange County, leaving them near Camp Pendleton’s Las Pulgas Gate on Thursday, Sept. 6.

See More About How They are Helping (Orange County Register)

My Take from Brownie Bytes

These great folks are doing more than walking.  They are pairing homeless vets with homeless dogs that they’ve trained into service dogs.  They’re giving them a place to stay, work, and most of all – hope.  A great cause to support.

To help: https://www.classy.org/campaign/humping-for-homeless-veterans/c194192