7 Days for the Troops celebrates 20th, and final, year
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Mall at Barnes Crossing Director of Marketing Cindy Childs, left, and 7 Days for the Troops founder Scott Burns, discuss the annual fundraising event that concludes at noon on Friday.
TUPELO – Saturday at noon, Scott Burns will gather everything at his spot in the food court at The Mall Barnes at Crossing and close out the annual 7 Days for the Troops. For good.
The annual fundraiser for veterans is in its final year, and Scott Burns can't think of a better time to shut it down.
"It's been 20 years from an event that was gonna be a one time, just crazy idea, and it's hard to believe that it's been 20 years," said Burns, a Marine veteran.
Burns, who served in the U.S. Marines Corps from 1991 until 1995 and suffered an injury that led to the amputation of his lower left leg in 2012. Three years ago, he lost a portion of his other leg after ankle troubles led to surgery, another infection and eventually amputation.
The idea for 7 Days came to be when Burns wanted to raise money for his fellow veterans. He built a 15-foot tower in the parking lot at the mall for a week, and it was an unforgettable 168 hours.
"That year, the last day of the event, it was on July 4, and tornadic winds came through, and kind of caused some issues with the tower. Nobody got hurt, and no, the tower didn't fall," Burns said.
The following year, mall officials asked Burns if he'd like have the event again but instead of building the tower outside, have it built inside near the food court. Save for a return outside for 2020, the fundraiser has been in the same spot each year.
"I thought it was the craziest idea of sleeping in the mall for seven days. But once we figured out the logistics of it and the fact that we could do it, realized we had a couple of times today, we had a captive audience, and actually made for a really good event," Burns said.
He also didn't have to stay up the tower the entire time, but all those years of climbing up and down took its toll
"It was hard for me to talk to the people in the food court, too. And so we just made the rule where I had to stay in the food court area, but still were able to come down here and walk around and mingle with the customers, which made it really good," he said "It's been a good partnership. I mean, it's amazing that because of the mall's willingness to allow us to do it here, we are a little over $850,000 that we've raised."
Including the items that have been donated to raffle off, 7 Days for the Troops has been able to donate about $1.5 million in support.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 7 Days had raised about $3,900 in donations. Over $6,000 in items have been donated for the raffle.
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U.S. Marines veteran Scott Burns started the annual 7 Days for the Troops fundraiser 20 years ago in the parking lot at The Mall at Barnes Crossing.
"The community and the businesses and our sponsors have really made this event possible because every event, every nonprofit has overhead," Burns said. "When I started this, I didn't want to have like a 40/60 split with donations. So we've always said that if we're gonna pay for anything that's not related to helping veterans, that we would do it by raising money from sponsors. And so because of our sponsors, we've been able to be true to the fact that 100% of every donated dollar has gone to help veterans."
Money has not only gone directly to more than 100 veterans to pay rent and mortgages, build tiny homes, purchase Track Chars and install ramps for easier access into veterans' homes, it also has donated to organizations like Purple Heart Homes and Wounded Warriors.
"Thousands of veterans have been helped because of the efforts of not just myself, but the community that's come together," Burns said.
He said that veterans need nonprofit organizations like 7 Days to help fill in the gaps when government agencies like the Veterans Administration are unable to do so.
"As a veteran myself, I don't believe that the VA is responsible for every aspect of my life after I get out," Burns said. "Medical wise, taking care of disabilities that are sustained from being in the military, yeah, I think they're responsible for that. If the VA decided they're gonna pay the bill for every veteran that gets out, no matter what their need is, it wouldn't be sustainable."
Burns said 7 Days will continue to have other fundraisers throughout the year, but the tower event is over. He does plan to bring it back for its 25th anniversary in 2031.
Last year, Burns hosted the Southern Salute to the Troops fundraiser that featured Pete Hegseth, and he said that would continue. He also has some other ideas to raise awareness for veterans needs.
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To find out more or to make a bid or to donate, visit the website at 7daysforthetroops.org .
"Something new and fresh, and something that doesn't require as much manual labor on my part," he said. "So, still fundraising; I'm just looking at a different type and being able to bring in a different group of people."
For this final 7 Days for the Troops tower fundraiser, Burns hopes to raise $20,000. The money will be used to help a veteran in Aberdeen that initially wanted a ramp. But after visiting the veteran's home, Burns realized the need for a concrete walkway from the house to their driveway was more pressing.
"But their driveway is also gravel, so we've decided to do a gravel parking slab so that he can get to and from his car, and he also has a storm shelter that in a storm situation, he's not really gonna be able to get to it," Burns said. "We're doing a concrete slab to his his driveway. And we've actually raised enough money to be able to do that project. So we're gonna finish that project, keep our funds to be able to help veterans with utility bills and things like that."
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