Saturday, September 30, 2017

Booyah Productions releases the second trailer for their documentary "3000 Miles for Your Why"!


UPDATE:
Booyah Productions is proud t announce the release of the second trailer for their documentary "3000 Miles for Your Why!"

Director Ray Tharaldson is documenting the cross country hike of Business Owner / Speaker / Marine Shane Johnson. This documentary reveals the root cause of Veteran homelessness and suicides. 

Shane started his trec in Orlando, Florida and will make his way west to 20 cities stopping to speak at homeless missions along the route. His hike ends at Camp Pendelton, Ca.

Full Sail University has agreed to provide production assistance for the film. Upon completion of the documentary "3000 Miles to Your Why" Booyah Productions will enter their film in the GI Film Festival next spring.

For more information or to donate please contact us at:
www.booyahveteranbusproject.com

#getonthebuswithus #hikeacrossamerica #booyahproductions

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Original Oyster House supports Booyah veteran Bus Projects "Hike Across America"














'Hike Across America' brings awareness to homeless vets


By Mike Lacy, Reporter - WLOX 13 News / BILOXI, MS
Hike Across America is a 3,000-mile walk that's designed to inspire and engage homeless veterans. 

It's the work of retired Marine Shane Johnson, who was once homeless for two years. Now on his feet, Johnson wants to change lives one step at a time.


"When I opened up my first business in 2006 at 26 years old, we did exceptionally well. Then, the business just dissipated. It was gone," said Johnson. "The next thing you know, I was living out of a 1995 Toyota Camry with two boxes, and I didn't know what I was going to do."


Now, he owns three veteran-based successful companies.

Johnson is on a mission to re-train those who fought for their country to now fight for themselves. He's walking from Orlando to California with a lot of stops to talk - including the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi.


"It's not secret sauce everybody's looking for. It really comes down to the simple plan of educating yourself, be self-taught and work," he said. 


Johnson also has a non-profit group, Booyah Veteran Bus Project. Its mission is to help veterans transition into civilian life - which sometimes requires tough love.

"You've been given millions of dollars worth of training. You know that excuses aren't accepted. You know it's your responsibility to accept your actions and what you've done. You've got to charge forward and make things happen," Johnson said. 

Army veteran John Welch was homeless for more than two years. He is the kind of success story Johnson likes to see. But, he has a stark message for everyone.

"Right now, with all the disasters going on, let me tell you something. People are experiencing homelessness that never imagined they would ever be homeless. And it's a rude awakening," said Welch.


Johnson will walk to Camp Pendleton, Ca. As part of his mission, he's working with the organization Clean the World to distribute hygiene kits to homeless veterans.

Copyright 2017 WLOX. All rights reserved.

Contact us at:
#getonthebuswithus #hikeacrossamerica #booyahveteranbusproject


Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Monday, September 25, 2017

USA Today picks up our Booyah Veteran Bus Project story "Hike Across America!"

Shane Johnson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who is hiking across the country to raise awareness about his nonprofit BOOYAH Veteran Bus Project, speaks with Kearney Center resident Catherine Williams' son, Terry Richmond, Jr. His grandfather was a Vietnam War veteran.(Photo: Nada Hassanein/Democrat)

Marine Corps vet hikes across the country to raise awareness about veteran homelessness 

, Democrat staff writer

Marine Corps veteran Shane Johnson didn’t imagine he’d become homeless.

After all, he owned his own mortgage company and made close to seven figures, he said.

But then the recession hit. His business crumbled, taking with it the life he built. He was homeless for two years and lived out of a car. During that time, he also was reeling from his veteran brother-in-law's suicide.

"We're all one crisis away from being homeless,” Johnson said.

That’s why he wants to help empower other struggling veterans and their families. He stopped in Tallahassee's Kearney Center Tuesday as part of his project Hike Across America. He's stopping at 20 cities across the nation to raise awareness about veteran homelessness and connect with veterans at local shelters.

“Everybody's got a plan until they get hit,” Johnson said.

Hike Across America is part of Johnson’s BOOYAH Veteran Bus Project, which guts old transit buses and transforms them into portable showers and bathrooms for homeless veterans. Hike Across America also is partnering with Clean the World to distribute 10,000 hygiene kits to homeless veterans.

He started the project after hearing about a veteran who had to walk 15 miles a day to get to a shuttle bus just to get to the VA Hospital. That story was his “A-ha” moment.

He knew he had to help.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are 39,471 homeless veterans in the U.S. on any given night.

During his stop at the Kearney Center Johnson met Catherine Williams.

The 47-year-old resident's father was a Vietnam war veteran. He’s paralyzed, struggles with PTSD and lives in a condo in Broward County, she said.

Despite being in a wheelchair due to osteo-arthritis, her bubbly personality shined through. Williams stationed herself by the button-powered handicapped door to open it for other residents. She'd suddenly break into song, her rendition of  Whitney Houston’s “Count on Me” echoing throughout the center’s patio.

It’s one of her favorite songs. “It inspires me,” she said.

As do people like Johnson and like her father, who’ve been in the trenches and risen to give back.

For Johnson, that's a way of life.

“The important thing is to give," he said, "you'll get a lot more back if you do that."

Johnson says along with helping shelter veterans, his focus is on helping to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place. The Veteran Bus Project gives entrepreneurship programs for veterans.

The key, he said, is to “band together.”

“To take a veteran and put them in a facility is to provide them cover… but that doesn’t stop what’s on the inside,” Johnson said. “We’re missing the key ingredient of that, which is giving them (veterans) that comradery.”

Reach Nada Hassanein at nhassanein@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @nhassanein_.

 

 

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Hike Across America update for 9.23.17

UPDATE: Booyah Veteran Bus Project's "Hike Across America".


Shane Johnson speaks at The Salvation Army Stand Down about his "Why" and the Booyah Veteran Bus Project mission..

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Booyah Veteran Bus Projects "Hike Across America for 9.21.17


Shane Johnson talks about the challenges and responsibilities that Veterans face after leaving the service.

Booyah Hike Across America update for 9.21.17


Shane Johnson talks about the challenges and responsibilities Veteran's face upon leaving the service.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Please Consider how you can help support "Hike Across America"


Veteran makes P.C. stop during cross-country trip


by

Shane Johnson is walking 22 miles a day from Orlando to California, distributing 10,000 hygiene kits to homeless veterans along the way.

PANAMA CITY — While homeless veterans received help during the 10th Annual Stand Down, several blocks away, a former Marine was inspiring other local homeless people.

Shane Johnson, who is hiking from Orlando to Camp Pendleton in California, stopped at the Panama City Rescue Mission on Thursday to encourage people to never give up and pick themselves up by the bootstraps. Johnson started the almost 3,000-mile trip last week and plans to be in California by November. He undertook a similar but shorter trek last year.

“Right now I’m hiking across America to raise awareness for homelessness and homeless veterans,” said Johnson, who at one time was homeless himself. “Seven years ago, around this time, I lost everything. I lost my businesses, I lost my home. ... Once I lost everything, one thing I remembered is to never quit, to never stop, to never blame the system.”

Johnson encouraged the dozen or so in the audience to take responsibility for themselves, make a move to better their lives and rely on their minds, “the most powerful thing they have.” During Johnson’s trek, which is being captured by a videographer, he has made time to camp and run his mortgage business while on the road.

Similar to his last hike, a three-week trip from Orlando to Panama City, Johnson is walking 22 miles a day in reference to estimated daily veteran suicide rates. This time, though, he’s distributing 10,000 hygiene kits to homeless veterans, which were provided by the global health nonprofit Clean the World.

Johnson plans to “speak to over 20 different homeless shelters and missions, and hopefully inspire people like yourselves to say, ‘Listen, I was right there too,’” he said to the audience at the mission. 

“I’m not speaking as if I haven’t been there. ... And in the veteran community, the reason we’re so strong is we stick together. You need to remember to stick together.”

Those words resonated with some of the people going through the mission’s recovery program, including Navy veteran Joseph Wilson, who is about to graduate and hopes to intern at the same place that has helped him out. Wilson came to the Rescue Mission “to die” but is now assisting others who’ve also walked in off the streets in search of guidance.

“I think it’s very important to bring more awareness to our Veterans Administration to help our veterans, when they’re going from one job to another or having an issue with medical appointments where they can’t make it,” Wilson said. “I think it’s inspiring. It inspires me, what I do right here at the Rescue Mission.

Even those who haven’t served came away motivated.

“I was never a veteran, but most of my life I never really had no family to help me out. It’s always been me, myself and I,” said Harold Rodriguez, also in the program. “I’ve just had to do it my own way, trying to find some way to rise up in life instead of living on the bottom and always struggling. ... Don’t ever give up because God always has a future plan for you.”

Johnson spent time in Tallahassee before his stop in Panama City, and now plans to head to Pensacola and Alabama. Johnson is also the founder of BOOYAH Mortgage, which helps veterans get home loans, and the BOOYAH Veteran Bus Project, which aims to provide buses so veterans, including the homeless, can get make it to their VA appointments. Johnson also stopped by the Stand Down during his time in Panama City.


Thursday, September 21, 2017

Shane Johnson update: 9.20.17

Shane Johnson recaps his day of hiking, inspiring others and shares his thoughts about doing business on the road.


Marine Corps vet hikes across the country to raise awareness about veteran homelessness


, Democrat staff writer
Hike Across America is part of Johnson’s BOOYAH Veteran Bus Project, which guts old transit buses and transforms them into portable showers and bathrooms for homeless veterans. Hike Across America also is partnering with Clean the World to distribute 10,000 hygiene kits to homeless veterans.

He started the project after hearing about a veteran who had to walk 15 miles a day to get to a shuttle bus just to get to the VA Hospital. That story was his “A-ha” moment.

He knew he had to help.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are 39,471 homeless veterans in the U.S. on any given night.

During his stop at the Kearney Center Johnson met Catherine Williams.

The 47-year-old resident's father was a Vietnam war veteran. He’s paralyzed, struggles with PTSD and lives in a condo in Broward County, she said.

Despite being in a wheelchair due to osteo-arthritis, her bubbly personality shined through. Williams stationed herself by the button-powered handicapped door to open it for other residents. She'd suddenly break into song, her rendition of  Whitney Houston’s “Count on Me” echoing throughout the center’s patio.

It’s one of her favorite songs. “It inspires me,” she said.

As do people like Johnson and like her father, who’ve been in the trenches and risen to give back.

For Johnson, that's a way of life.

“The important thing is to give," he said, "you'll get a lot more back if you do that."

Johnson says along with helping shelter veterans, his focus is on helping to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place. The Veteran Bus Project gives entrepreneurship programs for veterans.

The key, he said, is to “band together.”

“To take a veteran and put them in a facility is to provide them cover… but that doesn’t stop what’s on the inside,” Johnson said. “We’re missing the key ingredient of that, which is giving them (veterans) that comradery.”

Reach Nada Hassanein at nhassanein@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @nhassanein_.
This is what the Mission is all about! Connecting with and inspiring others to ignite and reinvigorate their own greatness! What a great write-up by Nada Hassanein and the Tallahassee Democrat for the Hike Across America! Thank you again to all involved for making this Hike happen and for your ongoing support of Booyah Veteran Bus Project and Clean the World !

We appreciate you ALL! It only takes a few dedicated, focused individuals to change the world!
To get involved or donate, please visit: cleantheworld.org/hike
 
ttp://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/09/20/marine-corps-vet-hikes-across-country-raise-awareness-veteran-homelessness/680984001/
#whatsyour22 #getonthebuswithus #hikeacrossamerica
http://www.tallahassee.com/…/marine-corps-vet-hi…/680984001/

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Clean the World and Booyah Veteran Bus Project team up to support "Hike Across America"


Clean the World and Booyah Veteran Bus Project are teaming up to support Shane Johnson's "Hike Across America". 

Please visit our web site: www.booyahveteranbusproject.com
#booyahveteranbusproject #hikeacrossamerica

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

UPDATE: 9.19.17 "Hike Across America!"


Shane Johnson gives an update on Booyah Veteran Bus Projects "Hike Across America!"

Visit our website today and join the movement to help cure and end homelessness! 

There are an estimated 600,000 homeless people in America on any given night! The least we can do is provide them with hygiene essentials like soap, shampoo, and a comb to help them begin to feel better and get back on their feet!


Monday, September 18, 2017

BJ's Brewhouse supports Booyah Veteran Bus Project



Shane Johnson talks with BJ's Brewhouse manager Danny about the value of hiring and working with Veterans.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

The Booyah Hike Across America route!


Hike Across America is a three-month initiative to raise awareness for homeless veterans and the difficulties they face going from active duty to civilian life. During the Hike Across America, founder of the Booyah Veteran Bus Project, Shane Johnson, will walk 22 miles every day for 65 days — trekking coast-to-coast, from Florida to California and distributing Clean the World Veterans' Hygiene Kits to homeless veterans in need.

This unified partnership between Clean the World and Booyah Veteran Bus Project is the first major step in this initiative," says Shane Johnson, founder of the Booyah Veteran Bus Project. "We will no longer sit by the wayside and allow our veterans to fall into the trap of isolation due to the lack of transitional resources. We will band together outside of the military to create a cohesive team — a unit — and will make a concentrated effort to help transitioning veterans learn to dominate civilian life as they did in the military."

The Hike Across America, a first-of-its-kind walk, will start on Sept. 11 in Orlando, Florida and end in Camp Pendleton, California on Nov. 14. The hike will be segmented into 22-mile intervals representing the number of veterans that commit suicide every day and consists of 20 different city stops including a Veterans Day stop in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

To Donate please visit: http://www.booyahveteranbusproject.com 

#getonthebus with us #booyahveteranbusproject #hikeacrossamerica

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Hike Across America 2017

Hurricane Irma might have set us back a few days, but the Hike Across America has officially kicked off! Today Shane Johnson of Booyah Veteran Bus Project started his cross-country journey, walking 22 miles a day to bring awareness to the 22 veterans that commit suicide on a daily basis. Along the way, Johnson will stop in 20 cities, providing Clean the World Veterans' Hygiene Kits to different shelters at each location. Stay tuned to updates on our Facebook page and see how you can get involved by visiting:
 
 

Clean the World & Booyah Veteran Bus Project Partner to Support Homeless Veterans Through Three-Month Hike Across America


ORLANDO, Fla. - August 3, 2017 - (Newswire.com)
Clean the World, a leader in Global Health, and Booyah Veteran Bus Project, announce the launch of Hike Across America, powered by Booyah Veteran Bus Project and Clean the World.  Hike Across America is a three-month initiative to raise awareness for homeless veterans and the difficulties they face going from active duty to civilian life. During the Hike Across America, founder of the Booyah Veteran Bus Project, Shane Johnson, will walk 22 miles every day for 65 days — trekking coast-to-coast, from Florida to California and distributing Clean the World Veterans' Hygiene Kits to homeless veterans in need. 

"This is a lead from the front initiative to not only bring awareness for but also, to take massive action across the nation to eliminate veteran homelessness and transitional issues caused by going from military life to civilian life.


This unified partnership between Clean the World and Booyah Veteran Bus Project is the first major step in this initiative," says Shane Johnson, founder of the Booyah Veteran Bus Project. "We will no longer sit by the wayside and allow our veterans to fall into the trap of isolation due to the lack of transitional resources. We will band together outside of the military to create a cohesive team — a unit — and will make a concentrated effort to help transitioning veterans learn to dominate civilian life as they did in the military."

This is the second time Shane Johnson and the Booyah Veteran Bus Project has hiked for veterans. 

In October 2016, Johnson and his team completed a 360+ mile trek from the Veteran's hospital in Lake Nona, Florida to Panama City, Florida. This year, with Johnson teaming up with Clean the World, the initiative is even bigger and more intense as the walk will consist of 65 consecutive days and over 3,000 miles. The Hike Across America, a first-of-its-kind walk, will start on Sept. 11 in Orlando, Florida and end in Camp Pendleton, California on Nov. 14. The hike will be segmented into 22-mile intervals representing the number of veterans that commit suicide every day and consists of 20 different city stops including a Veterans Day stop in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
"When we heard about the Booyah Veteran Bus Project, we knew Clean the World needed to be a part of this initiative," says Shawn Seipler, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Clean the World. 

"With over 47,000 homeless veterans in the United States, we want to directly connect these heroes, who gave the ultimate sacrifice to our country, to organizations and services that will help them get back on their feet. By creating an army of volunteers and supporters, we will fight for our homeless Veteran community, provide the necessary resources to get them back into the workforce, and give them a step up towards changing their situation for the better."

During the walk, Johnson will visit homeless shelters specializing in serving veterans, raise awareness for veteran homelessness, and hand out Clean the World Veterans' Hygiene Kits to those in need. Veterans' Hygiene Kits are specialized with items specifically with veterans in mind: 2 bars of soap, repurposed shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, shaving cream, razor, comb, socks, and an inspirational notecard. In addition, veterans will be connected to counselors, pastors, and organizations in their local communities to provide them with the support needed to transition to civilian life and into the work force.

"Our hope is to give these veterans a little something to make them feel better. These hygiene kits will provide a way for veterans to get cleaned and refreshed, giving them a renewed start as they face the challenges of their everyday lives," says Seipler. "We are visiting 20 cities across America during the three-month hike. We want to distribute as many hygiene kits as possible to vets across America so we are looking for individuals and businesses to donate towards the costs of the kits. Please help by donating kits via our website and spread the word to your friends. This is a fantastic way for individuals to give back to a veteran in need."

To learn more about Hike Across America powered by Booyah Veteran Bus Project and Clean the World including routes and updates, please visit: cleantheworld.org/hike-across-america.
 
In addition to Hygiene Kit donations, Clean the World is looking for equipment and supplies to support Shane Johnson and his team during the walk. This includes a recreation vehicle, camping gear, clothing, shoes, food, drinks, and electronic equipment. For businesses or individuals that would like to donate hygiene kits or sponsor Hike Across America, please email info@cleantheworld.org.
 
About Clean the World
Clean the World is a social enterprise dedicated to the mission of saving millions of lives around the world while simultaneously diverting hotel waste from landfills. Clean the World operates soap recycling centers in Orlando, Las Vegas and Hong Kong, and leads a "Global Hygiene Revolution" to distribute recycled soap and hygiene products from more than 5,000 hotel and resort partners to children and families in countries with a high pre-adolescent death rate due to acute respiratory infection (pneumonia) and diarrheal diseases (cholera) – which are two of the top killers of children under the age of five. Since 2009, more than 40 million bars of Clean the World soap have been distributed in over 115 countries. Clean the World has served over 10 million individuals through its soap distribution and hygiene education programs. In addition, Clean the World provides hygiene kits to relief organizations throughout North America.

 
About Booyah Veteran Bus Project
The Veteran Bus Project is a three-phase endeavor to provide a sense of dignity to the countless homeless and transitioning Veterans in America today. Phase 1 involves raising massive awareness to the circumstances surrounding veteran suicides and homelessness due to transitioning issues from Military service back into the Civilian sector. After distinguished and honorable military service, many aging or ill veterans end up homeless or even are forced to walk to and from their VA medical appointments across the nation. The Project will shed light on these issues by a hiking and speaking tours across the country in 2016 and 2017. 


The 360+ mile hike in 2016 was a massive success in Florida communities and this impact will be expanding to the rest of the United States with the hiking efforts in 2017. Phase 2 will involve the buildout of mobile hygiene units that will travel and provide showers, haircuts and laundry facilities to those in need; thus providing a critical healthy step up and restoring dignity to those it serves. The Project is aiming to begin construction of the first mobile shower unit in Orlando, Florida beginning in the second quarter of 2018. The third Phase of the Project will be aimed at creating actual transitional facilities, complete with a 13-week housing program. The central focus of these facilities will be recreating a military-type structured learning environment where veterans can learn from qualified instructors and community leaders the skills necessary to transition and even become highly successful and impactful in their new civilian lives! Upon completion of the program, each veteran will be provided with a mentor and a job opportunity. 

More information: BooyahVeteranBusProject.com.

Related Links
Hike Across America
Support the Walk

Press Release Service by Newswire.com

Original Source: Clean the World & Booyah Veteran Bus Project Partner to Support Homeless Veterans Through Three-Month Hike Across America


#getonthebuswithus #booyahveteranbusproject #booyahhikeacrossamerica

Day 2 of Shane Johnson's Hike Across America!


Friday, September 15, 2017

Shane Johnson interview with Erin O'Halloran from WUFT-FM 89.1

Earlier today Shane Johnson was interviewed by Erin O'Halloran from WUFT-FM 89.1about the Veteran homeless problem.