Stories of Impact Archives - Page 12 of 12

Boeing Employees Learn Service Dog Training Fundamentals

April 3, 2019

Close to a dozen Boeing staff members recently visited WCC’s Healing Quarters to better understand how service dog training works. Members of the organization attended a “Master Training” Class to get a firsthand perspective on how WCC uses its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training as an intervention for Veterans with visible and invisible wounds.

The class, led by WCC’s Executive Director and Founder Rick Yount, included a demonstration of how the service dogs help Veterans and even included a hands-on session, where Boeing team members learned basic commands and how to recognize stress cue alerts.

“It was a fantastic experience to have our partners from Boeing on-site to learn about what we do, how we do it and, in turn, for us to show them how their support helps us serve our Veterans,” said Yount. “It’s really impressive how Boeing takes an active interest in the organizations it supports. Boeing is a true champion for Veterans and has taken a leadership role in bringing awareness to military mental health as an issue that needs continued support.”

The master class was just the most recent show of support for WCC by Boeing’s team. The company recently contributed a generous gift of $100,000 to support WCC’s mission and help future Service Members and Veterans. WCC is one of 443 nonprofit organizations in 47 countries receiving grant funding from Boeing. In 2019 alone, Boeing will devote $13 million for Veterans’ recovery and rehabilitation programs and workforce transition service, in addition to the other program areas it supports.

“At Boeing, our people have unique skills and a passion for making a difference in the world, said Sarah Kyrouac, manager of Boeing Global Engagement. “That includes devoting their time and financial resources to causes that help ease veterans recovery and rehabilitation and transition back to civilian life. We’re proud to partner with Warrior Canine Connection to help those wounded warriors reconnect with their families, their communities, and each other.”

School Service Project Sparks Passion

April 3, 2019

What started as a school community service project has turned into a true passion for 16-year-old Shira Studley. She’s volunteered well over 50 hours at WCC puppy petting, cleaning kennels, handling administrative work and doing everything in between.

Shira’s high school, Holton-Arms, requires all students to complete a community service project to graduate. The 50 hours have come and gone but, sure enough, every Monday afternoon, Shira can be found at the WCC Healing Quarters completing any task asked of her.

A close family friend, who Shira affectionately refers to as her “uncle,” served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Marine Corps and has since struggled with post-traumatic stress. She says his experience, as well as his commitment to service, are part of what inspired her to donate her time to WCC.

“Volunteering at WCC is the perfect combination of helping Veterans and my love of dogs,” says Shira. “Seeing the bond that’s created between Veterans and these service dogs is absolutely amazing.”

Shira’s classmates volunteer for many other great organizations but she is the only student who gets to work with service dogs in training. Shira learned about the opportunity through a friend who had previously was volunteering to puppy pet and Shira said she knew it was where she wanted to get involved.

“I love WCC’s mission and have always possessed a natural comfort working with animals, especially dogs,” says Shira. “I have always found dogs to be animals that desire companionship and are able to give love. When they receive those things from humans they tend to reciprocate and form a real bond. I think companionship is a huge part of why dogs connect so well with humans, they are such social animals.”

Shira has two dogs of her own and says she has been astounded by the time, practice and patience that goes into all the training.

“I wish I could spend more time with trainers because my dogs could definitely use some lessons,” says Shira. “I have learned that it takes a lot of time and dedication to get a dog ready for this kind of service.”

She’s got a few years to figure it out, but Shira says there’s no doubt she wants to pursue a career that involves working with dogs and other animals.

Thank you, Shira!

Rick Yount, WCC founder and ED, Presents at 3rd Annual West Virginia Conference on Trauma Brain Injury

March 7, 2019

March 6, 2019 – More than 200 survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI), their family members and caregivers, and service providers are gathered in Daniels, West Virginia for the 3^rd Annual West Virginia Conference on TBI. Among the speakers on the agenda is Warrior Canine Connection Founder and Executive Director Rick Yount, who was invited back to speak for the second year in a row.

“I am so delighted to have the opportunity to be here in West Virginia and speak at this conference again,” said Yount. “The amount of practical knowledge, expertise on TBI and resources available to survivors and their family members is really impressive and underscores the availability of options, treatment and, most importantly, hope for the recovery for our Veterans with TBI.”

Themed “From Surviving to Thriving: Growth After a TBI,” topics being covered during the three-day conference center on improving communication, sexual health following a TBI, rehabilitation efforts, self-advocacy, behavioral health and substance abuse, among many other topics.

Of course, Rick’s talk centered on the use of its Mission Based Trauma Recovery training model, whereby Warriors in recovery are enlisted to train service dogs for their fellow Veterans. The training process and subsequent placement of highly trained service dogs can both serve as valuable tools in the TBI recovery process.

The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Program at the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities is proud to serve as the state’s designated lead agency for the coordination of services for West Virginians with TBI. The TBI Program is a collaboration between the state funded Traumatic Brain Injury Services and the federally funded Traumatic Brain Injury Implementation Partnership Grant. TBI is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the brain’s function. In West Virginia, anoxia due to near drowning is also considered a traumatic brain injury. To date, no other forms of anoxia are considered traumatic in nature in West Virginia.

Learn more about the TBI Program at the WVC Center for Excellence in Disabilities here.

Be a Hero for a Hero Raise a Future Service Dog

March 6, 2019

March 5, 2019 – Interested in helping veterans who have sacrificed so much for all of us? One way is to volunteer as a puppy parent with Warrior Canine Connection, a local nonprofit that breeds, trains, and places much-needed service dogs with veterans with visible and invisible wounds. Find out about current volunteer opportunities featured in Montgomery County Volunteer Center’s March newsletter.

First-Time Puppy Parent Ryan Holland Relishes Experience

February 5, 2019

A friend told Ryan Holland about Warrior Canine Connection’s new program at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health last year. A dog lover and Army Veteran, Ryan didn’t think twice about getting involved.

“Being a Veteran, I understand the difficulties of transitioning from military life to civilian life,” says Ryan. “It’s difficult as-is and to add a layer of PTS, TBI or a physical disability adds another difficult challenge to the mix. I wanted to give back to my own community — there’s a definite need among Veterans. People see the coming and going to and from deployment but the transition back to civilian life is really hard.”

Ryan became a puppy parent to service dog in training, yellow Labrador Retriever Joseph. The two hit it off immediately, along with Ryan’s chocolate Lab, Jackson.

“There was water splashed all over my house, lots of wrestling and some extra dog hair but we’ve both bonded with Joseph pretty quickly,” says Ryan. “Joseph is a really unique dog with a great personality. I’ve learned a lot during the service dog training process, and it’s helped shape how I treat my own dog, too. I’ve also learned from Joseph – to slow down, be patient and even how to communicate with my own dog better.”

Best of all, Ryan works on the Anschutz Medical Campus, where he serves as the Director of Pre-Award Contracting Services for the University of Colorado, so he’s within just a stone’s throw of regular puppy parent training sessions and other WCC-related needs.

Golf Apparel for Good: Linksoul Donating 10% of Line to WCC

February 5, 2019

Like golf? Like to shop? Combining the two is helping to raise funds for Warrior Canine Connection — thanks to Linksoul. Based in Oceanside, close to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Linksoul is a premier golf apparel company committed to supporting Service Members and Veterans by donating a portion of its proceeds to WCC and other Veterans charities.

Through the WCC/Linksoul partnership, which is showcased in this video, the company is donating 10 percent of its proceeds from the “Make Par Not War” line to WCC. So far, the partnership has provided more than $16,000 to help support our

mission of providing highly trained service dogs to Veterans.

Marine Corps Veteran Joshua Stueve (pictured to the right), an avid golfer, dog lover, and Linksoul brand ambassador, is featured in the WCC/Linksoul partnership ads and helped forge the partnership through his friendship with Linksoul founders John Ashworth and Geoff Cunningham. Stueve has since become a member of the WCC Board of Directors, joining other great leaders who volunteer their time to support the organization.

“Connecting Linksoul with WCC was such a natural fit,” said Stueve. “Both are filled with extremely talented and good-hearted people, who first and foremost seek to make a positive impact on their respective communities. With Camp Pendleton just down the road from the Linksoul Lab in Oceanside, it was a perfect opportunity to “Link Souls” and I am proud to have played a small role in the matchmaking.”

“It’s always been a goal for us to find a way to give back,” said Geoff Cunningham, co-founder and art director, Linksoul. “When we met Josh and learned about the WCC, it all just made perfect sense.”

Linksoul prides itself on “creating products we value, with people we love, for the good of our families and our community,” with an eye on support for Veterans.

Please join us in thanking Linksoul for its generous support of WCC and other Veterans organizations across the country.

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