Winter, 2018
We at Vets Helping Heroes and Charlie Morecraft’s team want to wish you a happy, healthy, peaceful and fulfilling Holiday Season!
Your gift from last year directly produced over 39 dogs for disabled Veterans, including two “Seeing Eye” Guide Dogs for Blind Veterans, and 37 other Service Dogs. Each dog has been specially trained for the unique needs of disabled Veterans who have loss of vision, loss of hearing, balance, mobility issues, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Your gift has gone even further by again using “challenge grants” as we did the year before that increased donations by over half a million dollars this last year again!
As you all know from our Obituary Letter to you dated January 17, 2018, our founder, Irwin Stovroff passed away on January 16th of this year at the age of 95. His Service Dog, Cash was right by his side. We then lost Irwin’s Service Dog, Cash, just a few months later, but Irwin’s Mission has not died. The Board is determined to carry on with Irwin’s Mission and make Vets Helping Heroes even more of a success and raise even more funds to help even more disabled Veterans in need of a Guide Dog or Service Dog.
We have re-organized with a new President, Melvin Pollack, Lt.Col., U.S. Air Force, Retired, (Ex-POW Vietnam), and moved our office and changed our telephone number to: 980 North Federal Highway, Suite 110, Boca Raton, FL 33432 Telephone Number: 561-927-VETS (8387). We have a brand new website at: www.vetshelpingheroes.org.
Unfortunately, the statistics of Suicide among our Veterans has increased. We are losing over 24 Veterans each day to suicide. We know that properly-trained Guide Dogs and Service Dogs do save Veterans having suicidal thoughts as a result of the depression from Blindness, PTSD and TBI. These Service Dogs perform tasks which helps the Veteran attain safety and independence again. For many veterans, life after partnering with a Service Dog is dramatically different than life before. They enjoy hobbies and activities they stopped participating in. They go out for dinner with family and friends without having anxiety attacks. Life improves and becomes fun again with the help of their Service Dog. They merge back into society.
If VETS HELPING HEROES HELPS only ONE of those 24 a day each year, (that would be 365 properly-trained, Certified Guide Dogs and Service Dogs) we would need a total of $14,600,000.00 per year to cover the cost. That $14,600,000.00 total only covers one (1) Veteran per day. THE NEED IS GREATER THAN EVER!
YOUR DONATION WILL SAVE LIVES! THESE SERVICE DOGS SAVE LIVES! PLEASE HELP US HELP THESE VETERANS!
