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Volunteer Ambassador

James "Jungle Jim" Mehm

My story with The Heroes Project begins 30 years ago when I met Tim while trying to sneak into a bar he was a bouncer at in New York City. Fast forward 15 years, I’m riding motorcycles with Tim in California when we realized we met each other some years before and had a good laugh. After a doctor told me I was going to be dead within five years if I didn’t stop drinking, I reached out to Tim to help me trade the nightly bar scene for the mountains. Not too long after that, I found Yosemite and I never looked back at another bar again.

This is when Tim introduced me to THP and everything it stands for. It didn’t take long before I was getting my hands dirty at the annual Climb for Heroes event, and numerous other THP volunteer opportunities. I have been so inspired and humbled by what our Veterans accomplish that my life was forever changed and I will always have this organization's back. My personal mission now is to see all 47 national parks while supporting THP and the men and women who serve this country. Yosemite will forever be my favorite park and I hope to still be doing it into my 70’s. I will always be a THP Volunteer and Backcountry Ambassador for life.

Built by people who get it.

This team works peer-to-peer, veteran to veteran. No charity desk, no distance — just people who've carried the same weight, standing alongside the ones still climbing.

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From hospital bed to summit. We take injured U.S. military veterans from recovery to the mountain — and honor every step between.

We are honored to be considered one of our nation's most trusted non-profits

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