Officials make a leap for vets
Legislators to skydive for charity
PROVIDENCE — State Rep. James N. McLaughlin, (D-Dist. 57, Cumberland and Central Falls) is at it again, jumping out of a plane this coming Sunday to help his fellow veterans and their families.
McLaughlin will be leading a group of state legislators and other fundraising volunteers in a series of tandem parachute jumps at Skydive Newport on Sunday to raise money for the Rhode Island Military Family Relief Fund.
The participating legislators, including McLaughlin, a former member of the U.S. Army and the 82nd Airborne, and others such as Rep. Marvin Abney, chairman of the House Finance Committee, and Rep. John Edwards, House Majority Leader, will be joined by those wanting to help with the fundraising by making their own tandem jumps during the event. Michael Harris, chairman of the Woonsocket
Democratic Committee, will be jumping this year, McLaughlin said, as will a number of his friends from Cumberland including, Frank Motta and William Perry, both veterans.
McLaughlin said this will be the third year the fundraiser is held and the second to specifically target support for the Rhode Island Military Family Relief Fund.
The Representative believes even more could be done for Rhode Island’s members of the military and their families. “When I look at our $9 billion state budget and the trivial amount going toward our veterans on a very limited basis-- we could do more,” he said. “It’s a very limited budget when you look at the fact that over the last five years Rhode Island Guardsmen and reserves have been called up five times,” McLaughlin said.
The event is intended to honor all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy, according to a House announcement of the fundraiser.
Marc Tripari, owner of Skydive Newport, said in the statement that his company will donate $50 per jumper (each jumper will pay a $230 jump fee) to the Rhode Island Military Family Relief Fund, which was created by an act of the General Assembly and is overseen by the adjutant general.
“Skydive Newport is proud to partner with the Rhode Island House of Representatives to be a part of this meaningful charity, which our company supports wholeheartedly,” Tripari said in the announcement.
Members of the Army National Guard and Reserves, friends and family will be on hand to cheer the legislators as they descend from the sky. The public is invited to attend to witness the jump, which will take place on Sunday, July 30 beginning at 10 a.m. at Skydive Newport, 211 Airport Access Road, Middletown.
McLaughlin said Kasim Yarn, Rhode Island’s director of Veterans Affairs, will be on hand to support the jumpers. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello will be providing a picnic for the participants after the jumps, he said while thanking him for the support. “Last year we raised $4,000 and I hope this year will be close to that,” McLaughlin said. As for his own participation in the jump, McLaughlin said he made a total of 27, static line jumps while he was with the 82nd Airborne during his military service. “You go out during a window of opportunity at 1,300 to 1,400 feet,” he said of the military-style of individual jumping. Under the tandem method using by private jump companies like Skydive Newport, two jumpers are strapped together for a free fall after which the professional jumper flies the canopy to the ground and completes a touchdown for the pair of jumpers.
“They skydive from 12,000 feet and you have about 49 seconds of freefall while dropping 5,000 to 6,000 feet,” he said. It is an experience you won’t forget, he said.
For more information, contact Representative McLaughlin at (401) 7411834 or Rep. Rep. Samuel A. Azzinaro (D-Dist. 37, Westerly) at (401) 596-1434.
Checks for donations to the event can be made payable to Rhode Island Military Family Relief Fund and may be sent to 645 New London Ave., Cranston, RI 02920.