Warrior Canine Connection Receives Grant from SAGA Foundation for Menlo Park Program
BOYDS, Md. – Warrior Canine Connection is pleased to announce it has received a $25,000 grant from SAGA Foundation to support its service dog training program at the Menlo Park VA.
This year marked six years that WCC has been providing its Mission Based Trauma Recovery program for Veterans at the Menlo Park Campus of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Through the program, Warriors recovering from the stress of combat are enlisted to help train service dogs for their fellow Veterans. In doing so, not only does the result produce highly trained service dogs, but Veterans can also benefit from skills development in communication, confidence building, accountability, emotional regulation and patience to promote an act of service in the process.
“This tremendous support from SAGA Foundation will help us maintain the great momentum we have established in Menlo Park over the past six years,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director, Warrior Canine Connection. “We have been privileged to serve hundreds of Veterans in California over the last half-dozen years, and we are dedicated to helping our Warriors experience the benefits of working with service dogs in training for many years to come.”
WCC began offering its service dog training therapy program at the Welcome Center, a new interdisciplinary facility on the Menlo Park Campus of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in April 2013. The 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art Center provides alternative and complementary therapies to meet the diverse and complex needs of our Veterans.
In addition to WCC’s program at the Menlo Park VA, WCC also provides programming in support of the Veterans Treatment Courts in California in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. Since WCC began its work with justice-involved Veterans in 2016, more than 50 Veterans have participated in the Calif. VTC program. Collectively, those Veterans have provided more than 600 hours of training for WCC service dogs.
“The innovative approach that WCC uses in training service dogs is something that really sets the organization apart,” said David Bartoshuk, President of SAGA Foundation. “Even before placing a dog with its forever Veteran, that dog has already worked with, and participated in the recovery process, of numerous Veterans. We are proud to be associated with such a great cause.”
SAGA Foundation awards annual grants through a selective application and review process, placing priority on organizations that focus on leadership, underserved youth, safety & security and global peace.
For more information, please contact Beth Bourgeois, Warrior Canine Connection, at beth.bourgeois@warriorcanineconnection.org.
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About Warrior Canine Connection
Warrior Canine Connection is a pioneering organization that utilizes a Mission Based Trauma Recovery model to empower returning combat Veterans who have sustained physical and psychological wounds while in service to our country. Based on the concept of Warriors helping Warriors, WCC’s therapeutic service dog training program is designed to mitigate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other challenges, while giving injured combat Veterans a sense of purpose, and help in reintegrating back into their families and communities. For more information, visitwww.warriorcanineconnection.org.
About SAGA Foundation
SAGA Foundation is dedicated to assisting nonprofits to work smarter, reach further and have lasting impact.
