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View Full Version : Brandee Voit's "Ride For Life 2005"



Anonymous
Fri Apr 15th, 2005, 11:00 AM
Got this via email - one of several rides the CSC has been invited to for this year:


"RIDE FOR LIFE 2005"
Benefit Run
July 23rd, 2005

Dear All Firefighters, Police Officers, and Anyone Affected By Suicide,

My name is Brandee Voit and I am a fallen firefighters daughter. My Dad did not die a hero in the line of duty nor did he die of old age. He died in a dark, lonely field, July 4th 1994, surrounded by people trying to save him. I watched in horror as my Dad, Denver Lt. A.A. Wharton, the greatest man I ever knew, put a bullet into his head. I screamed silently as blood sprayed from the left side of his head and his body fell and twitched on the ground and life left him. He died carrying demons in his heart too heavy to bare and not wanting to burden others with it. He lived in some sort of quiet tormenting hell that he could never share with anyone. He had saved so many lives but this was one that he just couldn't save in time. I blamed myself for so long, in some ways, I still do. Did I say all of the right things? Did I tell him how I would feel if he were not here? Did I say the wrong thing? My heart is broken and there are pieces that I will never get back. I hated God, the world, and myself. I wanted desperately to join my Dad and end the pain the seemed to flow through me like a rushing river. I wondered, why me? Well hell, why not me. I was no better then anyone else and didn't deserve any better or worse then anyone else did. He had seen suicide and knew the effects it had on a family and strangely, he called me there anyway. I do not believe that my Dad realized I was just behind him as he pulled the trigger that would change both of our lives . I feel like I was left to pick up the pieces that he left for everyone else too. I made the phone calls to inform people from my family to the Denver fire departments, Chief Gonzales. I read the note he left that just seemed so angry and out of character of him. He was so depressed but couldn't ask for help, he didn't want anyone to think less of him as a man, let alone think that he was "crazy" .

Our ride will benefit the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program. It is a world wide, non profit organization geared at educating people of the signs they should be aware of in a person that is suicidal, along with teaching people preventive measures and places they can turn to in times like these. This organization has several chapters in the United States and you can access that information by going to yellowribbon.org to see if there is a chapter in your state , how you can start one, and to read more about our ride. I welcome any suggestions or help you might have to make this ride one of the most charitable events ever put together. I am calling on you to help raise funds and I think our goal of 30 thousand dollars can be met with a little time, effort, and caring about others, can we raise more? Thank you to ABATE for all of your help and support in making this ride and all rides safe and getting the word out for us. We also need volunteers for this event. If you have time, call me! I will stop working on this charity and asking for your help when the last person takes a ride instead of taking their life. I don't expect alot, I just expect miracles.

I just started to heal in 2002. I was given the chance to save a current Coors employee and former firefighters life. He has a wife and 4 kids and needed liver transplant. Several people tested and didn't match, several people said they would test and didn't test at all. All I knew was that his 4 kids did not deserve the same fate I had handed to me with my Dads death. They had the right to have him send them off on their first date, watch them go to prom, scold them when they broke curfew, and hold them when they needed a shoulder to cry on. They were truly babies who needed him. His young son should not just have memories of having a catch in the park with his Dad; he should have it really happen. His son needs to have all of the wisdom that a father can give a son so that that boy has the chance to grow up to become a fine young man someday. His daughters should have him on their arm when they walk down the aisle. His wife now has the chance to watch her husband's hair turn gray with age and rock grandbabies that will someday fill their house.

My recipient did very well after surgery and went home in 9 days. I on the other hand fought infections, had several surgeries and underwent many procedures to fix all that was broken inside. I went home in several weeks with a tube still in my liver to help me live. Would I do this again? In a New York minute! I would go through all of it again if it meant that a family would be together. Firefighters and police officers do everyday what I was given the chance to do just once, save a life. Now I am asking that we all get involved and save the lives of some that cannot see the way to save their own.

This ride will not only be for motorcycles but all modes of transportation are welcome. What we would like is a sweat/t-shirt from every fire/police station we can get to auction off at our rally. We would love to get as many t-shirts/sweat shirts, head rags, key chains, or anything you can think of, from as many motorcycle clubs, department stores, Harley Davidson stores, or gift certificates from anyone that we can to have as door prizes. If your organization has any extra to donate, we welcome anything you might be able to send. Please remember that we have a lot of lady riders so not everything large will fit!! We also welcome any club or group that is willing to participate. We need donations of food for this ride of any kind, we could use anything that could feed anywhere from 50 to 500 people. Produce, bakery items, hogs for the hog roast, peppers, sponsors backing, you name it, we could use it and appreciate everything y'all do. We are also welcoming vendors for NO FEE! Just bring your own tent or canopy and sell, sell, sell! If you make a mint, try to make a small donation at the end or donate one of your "cool" things for a raffle or auction item! Spaces are going quick so RSVP ASAP! Just email me or call and sign up for our pot luck of sorts! If anyone has fresh flowers, gift baskets, balloons, ribbons, patches, pins, or something of that sort, we welcome that too! I know it is a long way to travel for a lot of folks, but just having something from your group, it would help out a lot. I am welcoming vendors this year that would like to sell their things for a donation to the event too. There are plenty of camping areas around Golden Colorado. You can find this info out by looking up, Colorado State Parks, it is pretty cheap to camp. If you can't make it, please support us because all of us have been touch by suicide in one way or another. If you are a celebrity figure, we would love to have an autographed 8x10 or better yet, we would love to have you there to sign autographs or donate memorabilia. Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program which is an outreach program of the Light For Life Foundation International , it is a program out of Westminster that was started by Dale and Dar Emme, who returned home one evening just after their teenage son shot and killed himself. You can also make donations at any Key Bank location in the USA, just ask for the Light for Life or Yellow Ribbon account. The yellow ribbon card that is passed out to teens tells them that it is ok to need help and it is even better to ask for help. We do not really know what is going on in the mind of someone who is suicidal until it is too late. We need to listen sooner and more intently to what is going on in the lives of everyone around us. Suicide is not prejudice, it takes the young, it takes the old, and in its wake, it leaves devastation. For those of you that wish to, you can bring a photo of your loved one along and we will have a memory board to put your photos and notes on.

My Dad was not a young man, but saw no other way out. I think that sometimes people forget that, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Suicide is a tragedy for everyone, young and old. Whether you have been directly affected by it or know someone who has been affected, you know the hole it leaves in the heart. We don't just expect you to open your wallets though, we want your time and hearts opened.

I have not completely healed nor will I ever. I will always remember the silence after the shot. Every 4th of July is going to be hard, but I am getting better. I am lucky to have the friends I have that hold my head above water when I seem to be drowning that day. He was Lt. A. A. Wharton, Tex, or Charlie, to the Denver Fire Department but he will always be Daddy to me.

I have a wonderful man in my life and I love him with all of my heart. If there is ever a chance that we might marry, Dad may not walk me down the aisle, but he will be the angel riding on my shoulder.

Thank You,
brandeev@comcast.net
Brandee Voit
www.rideforlife2005.com
16250 Mt. Vernon Rd
Golden, Colorado 80401
USA
303-215-9797
www.yellowribbon.org