Posted on: in [ News ]
Press Release: 08/22/2022
For Immediate Release
Disabled Veterans National Foundation Awards First-Time Grant to Retrieving Freedom, Inc.
SEDALIA, MO—Retrieving Freedom, Inc. (RFI) specializes in the training and placement of service dogs for veterans with disabilities and children with autism. RFI was recently awarded $19,000 from Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) to serve veteran clients.
RFI is a recipient of grant awards from several generous foundations, but this first-time award from DVNF marks a new direction in RFI’s strategy to increase its annual grant revenues over the next three years.
The DVNF Capacity Building Grant Program is a competitive initiative providing awards to like-minded organizations that support veterans. The Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) provides critically needed support to disabled and at-risk veterans who leave the military wounded—physically or psychologically—after defending our safety and our freedom.
DVNF’s belief is, “There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol for how a veteran overcomes the mental impacts of war, and outside of the initial recovery from physical wounds, it’s often up to the veteran to navigate his or her own way back to normal life.”
RFI has been working closely with Missouri Veteran Client Patrick over the last year. Patrick was recently placed with RFI service dog June, and the DVNF Award supports this significant milestone in his life of teaming up with an expertly trained service dog!
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Clients receive service dogs from RFI at no cost, though the average cost for training and placing a service dog ranges from $30,000 to $50,000 across the industry. Dogs spend approximately two years training to perform tasks that mitigate psychiatric and physical disabilities. They learn to interrupt night terrors, apply deep pressure during times of heightened anxiety, retrieve items, open doors, and pull wheelchairs for short distances. Many RFI veteran clients report that they feel they would not be here today were it not for their service dog.
Clients sometimes take the initiative to raise funds that offset the cost of their service dog, and Patrick has raised funds through his own monthly giving and gifts from his peers. Over the course of Patrick’s process with RFI, he's spent quite a bit of personal time preparing for this moment. It's a serious commitment veterans make when they decide to get a service dog. After taking the first step to apply, veterans spend time connecting RFI with their medical teams, learning how to handle a service dog, preparing for the final Public Access
Test, and then participating in regular follow-up meetings throughout the service dog’s career.
June is a service dog who’s spent more than two years with RFI’s trainers, program partners, and volunteers to be prepared for a life of service. Thanks to the generous award from DVNF and funds raised by Hawthorn Bank's Annual Clinton Golf Tournament, Patrick and June are now a placed team.
RFI Board Director Bobby Hayden said, “RFI is very grateful for this donation to help all our veteran clients. Our veterans bravely serve our nation, and we’re honored to be able to give back to them in this meaningful way.”
RFI is a member program of Assistance Dogs International (ADI), the leading global standard in the service dog industry, and has trained and placed more than 140 service dogs with wonderful results. RFI service dogs are specifically trained to provide mobility and psychiatric assistance to veterans, as well as children with autism, and the service dogs help RFI clients reconnect with family and friends, participate in public events, maintain employment, and find new purpose in living.
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