‘I hope it opens people’s eyes’: Pastor, veteran rucking 222 miles for fundraiser

By Derek Heid

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    NIAGARA FALLS, New York (WKBW) — The executive director of the Niagara Gospel Mission has taken on a special mission of his own — committing himself to rucking 222 miles in honor of the countless homeless veterans in WNY.

John Cooper Jr. is both the executive director and a 6-year Army veteran.

“Rucking is walking at a fast pace with weight on your back,” John said. “The reason in the military we’d do that is because, in the field, in training or in combat that’s what you do. You carry heavy weight on you.”

When John stepped away from the service in 2021, he came to some harsh realizations about the city he grew up around.

“I drove through Niagara Falls and some of the areas in Niagara Falls looked parallel to Kabul, Afghanistan,” John said. “9.5 million people a year come here to see Niagara Falls, but they walk right past people made in the image of God who are homeless and in need.”

Even though John is currently a pastor, he felt that going back to rucking, something he did every week in the military, was a familiar feeling to the people he now serves.

“The homeless population that we serve, walk around with everything they own on their backs.”

In honor of his own unit, the 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment, he is rucking 222 miles for local homeless men, women and veterans.

“I hope it opens people’s eyes to the problem,” John said.

He started on 2/22, in hopes of raising $2,222 to expand add six more rooms to the Niagara Gospel Mission’s RECON (emergency shelter/rehabilitation) program.

He is just one-third of the way into the ruck, but already surpassed his fund raising goal by over a thousand dollars, with the total now $3,500.

Even his own emergency shelter manager Alex Goldsmith is looking at him in a new light.

“Wow, it just gave me a whole new perspective of the guy who runs this mission here,” Alex said.

John is continuing the ruck until he reaches 222 miles on or before Easter Sunday.

You can donate to John’s mission at form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/niagara-gospel-rescue-mission/working-ngm-giving-form, he asks that anybody donating write “222 Ruck” in the memo line on the website.

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