Bangor Man Raising Money For Veterans By Flipping Huge Tire

We first introduced you to Mike Laliberte from Bangor last year, when we caught wind that he was trying to flip a 400lb tire the length of one full mile to raise money for Maine veterans.

Laliberte, who was injured in a hunting accident when he was 12, and ultimately lost his leg to sepsis in 2020, has chosen to flip his own personal challenge into something positive, by raising money for the Maine Veterans Project. He was originally inspired to give to the organization by his dad, who is a retired Purple Heart Marine.

Laliberte first put this challenge together in 2015, and each year he sets the bar even higher.

Last year, Laliberte raised over $10,000 for the organization. This year, he's aiming to raise more, motivated by a sobering statistic.

"This year we are raising money for Maine Veterans Project again we have set a goal of $22,000 in honor of the 22 veterans that commit suicide every day."

He started training for this year's event while there was still snow on the ground.

"My goal for this year's time is to finish it in 2hrs 30min. That will be almost 11 min faster than last year's time."

"Training has been going alright.[I] had my longest training session [this weekend.] It was tougher than I would have liked it and I was over the pace I wanted, but most things worth doing are going to be tough."

He's raised a little over half of his fundraising goal so far. And while the challenge will take place soon, folks can still donate until July 4th.

"First flip will be June 25th at 9:30 with a hopeful finish time of noon. We will be taking donations [the] day of the challenge, through the Facebook page or right to Maine Veterans Project."

If you'd like to donate, you can visit Mike's Fundraising Page by clicking here.