Our Charity Numbers for the Spring Lake 5 Mile Run have been claimed. Thank you for your interest. You can still become a member of Team Freedom and Support Veterans please click on the button below to donate.

Meet the other members of Team Freedom. Have a nice carbo-load of Pasta, meet some Asbury Park DAV members that you can thank for their service, and pick up your custom Team Freedom XXVIII shirt.

Join the Team

Team Photo

Welcome to Team Freedom XXVIII! We have a simple but essential mission – never forget the true meaning of Memorial Day! Over 1.5 military members have died in combat. We run as Team Freedom to honor those who lost their lives while defending our country and our way of life.

For over 28 years, Team Freedom has raised donations for veteran causes during the Spring Lake 5 Memorial Day Weekend race.

Team Freedom is proud to partner with Homes for Veterans, a nonprofit dedicated to helping disabled veterans live safely and independently in their own homes.

This isn’t our first time working together. In 2024, we supported a fellow New Jersey veteran, Guy Saladino—and saw firsthand the real, immediate impact these projects have.

Watch that project here.

This year, we’re raising funds to support Howard Hornberger of Saddle Brook, NJ—a U.S. Air Force veteran whose service-related injury has made everyday life at home more difficult and more dangerous.

Together with Homes for Veterans, we’re working to install a barrier-free, walk-in shower—improving safety, restoring independence, and giving Howard the comfort he deserves.

This is where you come in.

Your donation goes directly toward projects like this—real improvements for real veterans, right here in New Jersey.

We’re aiming to raise $15,000, and every contribution moves us closer.

These projects aren’t small—materials, labor, and custom work add up quickly—but the impact is immediate and lasting.

Team Freedom was founded in 1997 by a small group of runners and veterans with a simple mission: remember the true meaning of Memorial Day.

We still carry that mission today—running the Spring Lake Five, wearing the same patriotic shirts, and raising funds for veterans who need it most. Over the years, we’ve raised more than $150,000 for veteran causes.

Join us.

Run. Walk. Donate. Cheer us on.

Everyone has a role to play.

AS ALWAYS, WE WELCOME NEW TEAM MEMBERS.
Our growth—and our impact—comes from people like you.

About Homes for Veterans: Homes for Veterans is a New Jersey‑based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to making homes safer and more accessible for disabled veterans by providing barrier‑free home modifications at no cost to the veterans or their families. Their services include wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, accessible kitchens and bathrooms, stair lifts, and more — all designed to remove barriers that compromise safety and independence. (homesforveterans.us)

Over $6 million raised since 2020 for veteran programs
More than 4,000 veterans received essential items to improve safety and quality of life
150 barrier-free home modification projects completed, helping veterans regain independence
Ranked a Four-Star charity with a 99% score on Charity Navigator for accountability and impact
All donations are 100% tax-deductible under EIN 45‑2149057

Each accessibility project not only improves physical safety but also supports veterans’ emotional well-being, reducing fear and increasing confidence in daily life.

Our goal is to raise $15,000.

You can help.

Donate Here or click the button below!

We Remember!!

Jim & Team Freedom

Donate Here

Howard served our country honorably for 12 years on active duty during the Cold War, including service in Turkey. During his time in the Air Force, he suffered a serious fall while on base, an injury that has continued to impact his mobility decades later.

Today, Howard’s physical limitations have made everyday activities increasingly dangerous —especially bathing. In recent months, he has fallen three separate times while attempting to get out of his shower, tumbling through the glass door and bleeding. His current bathroom is clearly not equipped to support his disability.

Donate Here

Here is the video for our project together with Project ReFit for Guy Saladino from 2024

TEAM FREEDOM’S MISSION

This is Team Freedom’s 28th year running the Spring Lake Five. While we have raised over $150,000 for veteran causes over the years, our primary mission is to simply remember, and remind others of, the true meaning of Memorial Day. We are honored to be the only veteran-based charity running the SL5!

As a way to honor the fallen, we also raise money for veteran-based causes. Some of the causes we have supported over the years are:

2025 -Team Freedom supported Project Refit. And this year we are also supporting this wonderful charity.

2024 – HOME FOR VETERANS – Home for Veterans organization helps military veterans live safely and independently in their homes and provide housing and support. They provide free renovations to disabled veterans’ homes, including ramps, wheelchair accessible bathrooms, and ADA kitchen adaptations.

2023 – Team Freedom supported NJ Troopers Assisting Troops (TAT). TAT is a grassroots NJ-based nonprofit group of retired and active New Jersey State Troopers and friends providing support to returning Wounded Warriors from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Inherent Resolve recreational and rehabilitative programs.

TAT works with K9s For Warriors to match a rescue dog with a local wounded veteran to assist in the transition of his or her return to civilian life with dignity and independence. Wounded Warriors attend K9s For Warriors Campus for a three-week resident academy where they are partnered up with their new companion. TAT sponsors wounded warriors to participate in this program and pays for the dog’s maintenance and vet care, the warrior’s transportation, training, certification equipment, housing, meals, and teaching manuals. There is no cost to the Warrior. This program saves two lives, the rescue dog and the Wounded Warrior.

The cost to provide a service dog to a veteran is $15,000. Our goal this year is to raise $15,000 to ensure a wounded veteran can live his or her life with dignity and independence with the help of the service dog.

You can still donate directly on TAT’s website: http://troopersassistingtroops.org/ Please add “Team Freedom” in the note section.

2019 – We were very excited to partner with Team Shamrock and The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation to help build a mortgage-free smart home for a catastrophically injured local Neptune service member, Scott Nokes.

During his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, Scott, a Marine corporal, developed an infection that would result in the loss of both his legs and his eyesight.

The home will be custom designed to address his unique needs. The house will feature automated doors and lighting, wider halls and doorways, special showers to accommodate wheelchairs, automatic door openers, cabinets, counters, and stovetops that can be raised and lowered, back-up generators, and central heating and air conditioning systems that can be controlled by tablets. This home will enable the veteran to live a better, more independent life.

2018 – Hope For Veterans Mental Health Care Initiative – we raised over $13,000 for the Hope for Veterans Program that cares for veterans struggling with PTSD, depression and other forms of mental illness and addiction. The program provides as many as 20 veterans with on-site, timely individual and group counseling to complement the case management services provided at its largest veterans program. There was an immediate improvement with the participating veterans struggling with mental health issues. At-risk veterans who might otherwise be reluctant to seek mental health care services because of fear of stigma or lack of trust with the VA, are benefiting from ongoing therapy from the Hope for Veterans counselors.

2017 – Hope For Veterans Emergency Meals – we raised over $12,000 to provide emergency meals for Hope for Veterans. Hope for Veterans is a 95-bed transitional housing program for homeless veterans and the largest and most comprehensive program for homeless veterans in New Jersey.

2016 – Asbury Park Chapter of the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) – we raised over $30,000 to purchase a much-needed wheel-chair accessible van for their members. The Chapter is now able to transport disabled veterans to essential medical care.

2015 – National Disabled American Veterans – we raised over $6,000 to assist disabled veterans get the care and support they need to recover from their injuries.

2013 & 2014 – American Widow Project -raised over $15,000 to support widows of service members who died in service

2012 – Wounded Warrior Project

2011 – National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey located at Sea Girt Army Camp

2010 – Wounded Warrior Project

2009 – USO

2007 – Fischer House

2006 – Salute America’s Heroes

Spring Lake Five Mile Run

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)