Freedom Fighter Outdoors & Wounded Warrior Foundation

For many of us, the joy of spending time outdoors is easy to take for granted. Whether we are heading to the nearest camp ground or jumping in our boat to venture into the open water, these freedoms are sometimes overlooked.

Unfortunately, many of our men and women who served in battle find it difficult to enjoy many of these activities.  For some, just traveling there can be an obstacle due to the injuries they sustained in combat, and the costs associated can also be too much to handle. With equipment and charter fees, it mounts quickly.  For many of our veterans, they do not have the ability to afford such luxuries. Thankfully, there is an organization that offers these amazing adventures to our suffering soldiers for no cost at all.

Freedom Fighter Outdoors is a non-profit organization that partners with the Wounded Warrior Foundation to show gratitude to our nation’s injured service veterans. They organize exciting outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, skeet shooting, music festivals and various other events to provide unique experiences to our wounded warriors who are returning from combat as well as those still dealing with the life-long effects associated with their tragic injuries.

The organization began when Captain Vinnie LaSorsa, who helms Jimmy Buffet’s sports fishing vessel, saw a problem in his own family that had to be resolved. Vinnie’s younger brother, 1^st Lieutenant Joe LaSorsa, is a marine veteran that is still dealing with serious injuries from his service to our country. He found it difficult traveling to go fishing without assistance due to his combat wounds. Vinnie started to take his younger brother and his fellow marine countrymen fishing on his own personal boat to allow them to experience the great outdoors again.

It consistently grew and led to Vinnie starting Freedom Fighters Outdoors that now conducts six fishing trips per year along with various other adventures.  Recently, the F.F.O. held their annual fishing trip in Montauk, New York. This year was a four day event that consisted of delicious meals donated by local restaurants as well as top quality offshore fishing.

“It’s amazing. To see the looks on their faces when they reel in their first fish, it can be very emotional”, remarked Lisa DeVeglio, who is one of the main contributors to the organization. We are so grateful to our veterans that put themselves in harm’s way and to those who, tragically, did not return. Vinnie LaSorsa and all those involved with F.F.O. also deserve all our gratitude and support.

To donate to their organization, please email them at info@freedomfighters.org or call 1 (800) 625-2565. You can even donate your vessel and time to add to their list of annual fishing trips. Our veterans deserve all the adventures they can handle. Anything we can sacrifice will pale in comparison to what these men and women have already done for us.

-Sean Wilkes, Denison Yacht Sales, New York