Friday, February 24, 2012

Vets Helping Heroes

This is number three in what I hope will be on ongoing crusade to help us get back on track with knowing and appreciating our full potentials as the giving, honorable, loving human beings most are in reality.

Something most media's and political extremists would apparently love us to forget.

Hearing about our little darlings destroying property at the Foresthill park forced me to change the line: “as the giving, honorable, loving human beings we are in reality" to: “most are in reality” but I’m still sticking to my opinion that the vast majority of folks are on the positive side of things and as much as I’d love to suggest what should be done with whoever is acting like animals there, that’s all I’m going to say about that at this time.


So consider this, over 40,000 of our returning vets have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Irwin Stovroff a decorated World War II veteran, a former P.O.W., is answering the call to help ease the way for young vets who have already given so much.
The World War II hero was on his 35th bombing mission over France when his plane crashed behind enemy lines.
They captured him immediately. He figured this time he was not going to make it.
Irwin quickly threw away his dog tags, which identified him as Jewish and survived a year in a German P.O.W. camp.

Now 70 years later, the 89-year-old decorated hero is on a different mission. Irwin raised $3 million to provide service dogs to wounded soldiers, including the newly wounded returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He began his group "Vets Helping Heroes," after learning there is no government program giving soldiers canine help. Retired lieutenant Colonel Kathy Champion, going blind from a mysterious virus contracted in Iraq, became a hermit in her own home. She quit school and quit her job.
Well, along came Irwin, who raised money to give Kathy her angel dog, telling everyone who would listen that her new friend granted her back the life she felt was taken from her.

Training these exceptional canines can cost as much as $70,000 per dog and takes 18 months beginning in the puppy stage. They look like any other Labrador, but they are so much more than that. After the extensive training, they are working therapy dogs, helping service men and women recover from the wounds of war.

Irwin Strovoff is far more than a true hero. He’s another example of the heights humans are capable of and willing to reach toward helping others. These wonderful, selfless people are out there in droves folks. We all need to start not only acknowledging them but holding them in the highest esteem.


Here’s some information on the organization Irwin started:

Who They Are

Vets Helping Heroes is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization created to solicit and provide funds for qualified training facilities so that they may provide assistance dogs and training to veterans and active-duty military personnel who have been wounded in the post 9/11 conflicts.

Their Mission

To provide a professionally trained assistance dog prepared by a qualified instructor to every disabled American veteran or active-duty military personnel wounded in the post 911 conflicts enabling them to return to a life of dignity and self-reliance whether they are visually impaired or have other special needs that would benefit from an assistance dog.

How The Heroes Benefit

Assistance dogs provide independence and service to a veteran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In addition, they are a source of much needed enjoyment as beloved "family members" - running with children, providing comfort for spouses, and the security of knowing that they can even provide such services as predicting an oncoming seizure.

How can I help this organization?

Writing this story up, I thought to add everything I could find to enable folks to contribute or help them.
I eventually decided the best thing I could do is simply give their web address, so you can log in, find out all you want to know, then contact them, donate, contribute or just enjoy the website they’ve created.

So here ya go:
http://www.vetshelpingheroes.org/




Again. PLEASE DO NOT E-MAIL ME. Take the time and effort to read the directions below and add to the conversation for all to enjoy.
Thanks....

Now click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of this blog and add your response or thoughts for others to see when they click on the "Comments" link (TRY IT RIGHT NOW!). It makes it far more interesting if we make it a conversation, instead of just my bullshit. Thank you to those who take the time and effort to do so.....
COME ON..........DO IT!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great cause

Anonymous said...

Irwin Strovoff is an outstanding individual and WW11 hero. I am a personal friend and support his efforts to raise money for training service dogs for returning Vets in need.

We all need to recognize that the US Government does not provide service dogs to Vets in need. These Vets have served and now all of us at home owe them help in overcoming their disabilities.

Please consider making a donation to Vets Helping Heroes.

Don Werner

Robert Black said...

Paul - this is a great cause - our American Legion Post in Loomis just sponsored a dog for wounded Veterans. There is also a group here at the old Mather AFB, who trains them. See this afternoon for a haircut

Robert Black