The Reason
Why we
do this.
The day · The meaning · The money
The EDC Remembrance Muster isn’t a fitness event with a memorial attached. It’s a memorial that happens to include a fitness event — and a fundraiser that makes everything else the Foundation does possible.
Memorial Day
A day of
remembrance.
The last Monday in May
Honoring those who died in service
Memorial Day is not Veterans Day. It’s not Independence Day. It’s the day the country sets aside to remember the men and women who did not come home — every branch, every war, every era.
In many places it’s become a long weekend of cookouts and sales. That’s not a criticism — life goes on because people gave everything so that it would. But the day still belongs to remembrance first. Everything else comes after.
We chose Memorial Day weekend for this event on purpose. Fitness. Community. Service. Three things the fallen would recognize in the veterans and families still here.
That’s the reason we do this.
Fundraiser
How The EDC Remembrance Muster makes it possible.
The EDC Remembrance Muster is the Foundation’s flagship annual fundraiser. Revenue from registrations, sponsorships, vendor fees, donations, merchandise, and food-and- beverage partnerships is reinvested directly into the Foundation’s mission.
As the festival grows, so does our capacity to expand programming, serve more veterans and families, and move closer to making the Esprit de Corps Campus real.
Each year, the goal isn’t a bigger event.
It’s greater impact.
Transparency
Where your money goes.
The EDC Remembrance Muster is a 501(c)(3) fundraiser. Every dollar after direct event costs flows into three places — and only those three.
Year-Round Programming
Weekly workouts, kayak outings, hikes, Back to School Community Event, community service projects, and family programming that runs 52 weeks a year.
Operation Adventure
Outdoor recreation and adventure-based programming for Chicago veterans and military families — the year-round expression of what happens on race day.
The Esprit de Corps Campus
Our permanent physical home. A veteran wellness and recreation center where the programming above can operate every single day.
No fancy overhead. No middlemen. Straight to the mission.
Carry the weight
Now you know why. Show up.
Register. Sponsor. Volunteer. Donate. Any door counts.