There are only a few times in my life that I have been so overcome by emotion. On the night I crossed from Iraq back into Kuwait, as we convoyed out of the war zone, my friends and I circled around celebrating our survival of the most difficult 14 plus months of our lives. That night I was overcome by relief.

On Sunday afternoon as my cousin John Baldwin crossed the finish line of the Ford Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, NY, I was again overcome by emotion. As our red t-shirt clad clan converged on the man who just completed a grueling 140 mile course you could feel the overwhelming pride, joy, and inspiration that each of us shared for John.

Post by John Baldwin, Race for War Kids competitor

When I heard my cousin Jon's stories about Iraq's war kids, I wanted to do something to help give the kids an opportunity to escape the cycle of violence. Like a lot of people, I didn't know at first what I could do. So when Jon told me that War Kids Relief is raising money to build Iraqi Youth Centers to give Iraq's war kids educational and employment opportunities, I offered to help them raise money by competing in the Janus Charity Challenge at the Ford Ironman USA triathlon in Lake Placid, NY. For me, it's not just a triathlon, it's the Race for War Kids.

Known as one of the most grueling endurance tests in sports, the Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile open water swim, followed by a 112 mile bike through the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains and finishes with a gut punishing 26.2 mile run, finishing in the Olympic Oval in Lake Placid. It's incredibly tough on the mind and the body, but when I think of Iraq's war kids, I'm driven to succeed.

While politicians and pundits debate the future of Iraq, Iraq's war kids are suffering horrific conditions. CBS News ran a story on Monday about the nightmare conditions at one Iraqi orphanage.

"They saw multiple bodies laying on the floor of the facility," Staff Sgt. Mitchell Gibson of the 82nd Airborne Division told CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan. "They thought they were all dead, so they threw a basketball (to) try and get some attention, and actually one of the kids lifted up their head, tilted it over and just looked and then went back down. And they said, 'oh, they're alive' and so they went into the building."

The devastating effects of war hit hardest upon a nation's most vulnerable members - the youth. And one of the worst ways that war effects a nation's future is through the physical and psychological abuse of using desperate kids to commit acts of violence.

At War Kids Relief, we're determined to get rid of the desperation insurgents exploit to get kids involved with violence and warfare. Through our Iraq Youth Centers, we're providing educational and employment opportunities that give Iraq's war kids a chance for a better future, a chance to get involved with rebuilding their country rather than tearing it down.

While serving in Iraq, I witnessed firsthand the devastation that war brings to a country. In 2003, I visited St. Hannah's Orphanage when a nun took me aside and requested that I and my fellow soldiers not return to the orphanage which we had supported in previous months. The insurgents threatened to kill all of the children if we ever visited the orphanage again. This and many other horrific moments inspired me to conceive a program that provides aid and assistance to Iraq's war kids. That's why I started War Kids Relief.

War Kids Relief helps the children of Iraq recover from the disruptive effects of war and gives them hope for a better future. War Kids Relief's Iraq Youth Center Work/Study Program, implemented by The Iraqi Ministry of Youth and Sport, provides Iraqi youth with both jobs and education. This critical program is designed to keep the victims of war from becoming insurgents, and give hope to a community that has been devastated.

Right now we're ramping up for the Race for the War Kids in support of the Iraqi Youth Center Work/Study effort that is currently engaging Iraqi youth by providing both jobs and education. As part of our fundraising effort, War Kids Relief is sponsoring my cousin John Baldwin in the Ford Iron Man USA Triathalon on July 22nd, 2007, in Lake Placid, NY. Our local NBC affiliate, WGRZ, talked to me and John about War Kids Relief and Race for War Kids. You can watch the segment on our web site.