February 1, 2016
January 25, 2016
What a beautiful day at Poway Veterans Park!!!! So special because Jade, a Shelter to Soldier™ service dog, graduated our program with her veteran handler Chris Meyer Ontiveros, U.S. Army Ret. We are so proud of the incredible journey they have created together and we look forward to watching it continue! Huge thanks to @Integriv, an amazing company out of #carlsbad, that is paving the way for #corporategiving. Not only did they sponsor the adoption, training, care and placement of Jade in 2014/2015, they just sponsored a second dog! Our mission at Shelter to Soldier™ would not be even remotely possible without the support of corporations and individuals who give back in the wonderful ways they have. THANK YOU! And CONGRATULATIONS to Jade and Chris! Thank you to our #veterangraduates Ben and Tank, and Vic and Kira the Service Dog for coming out to support! #veterans #dogrescue #shelterdog #servicedog #ptsd #usarmy#army #military
October 19, 2015
Our Saving Lives Two at a Time Benefit last night was wonderful! We met some great people, shared our mission, watched the horses show off and we raised much needed funds to support our program! Thank you to our attendees for taking time to learn about our mission and for being so generous!
Huge thanks to West Palms Events for allowing us the opportunity and for all of the support! Thank you to our amazing, passionate and very hard working volunteers!
Our guests enjoyed delicious small plates thanks to the very kind food vendors that donated 100% of what was served last night! Paella Valenciana Toast Catering San Diego Creative Catering & EventsCupcakes Squared!! Thank you so much!
To all of the people & companies that donated items for the auctions and drawing, as well as for the gift bags, thank you! We are also so grateful to have the amazing Nine10 Photobooth Images support all of our photography needs!! Donna B Art, you are so talented and we are very grateful for the kind donation of your artwork!
Many thanks to Vic Martin and Ricky Mendez, two of our STS veteran recipients that attended. Vic graduated with his service dog Kira the Service Dog last November and Ricky will be graduating with his pup Plato (sponsored by Plato Pet Treats) in the near future!
A very special thank you to Griffin Funding for stepping up in a big way and making a $12,000 donation on the spot to make it possible for us to sponsor a second dog and veteran thanks to your generosity!!
One last heartfelt thank you to our friend, Alex Woodward, for donating the amazing private performance which was a huge hit as an opportunity drawing item and for giving all of our guests a copy of one of your amazing books, For The Sender! Stay up to date with Alex and For The Sender here: For The Sender. Shelter to Soldier™ President, Graham Bloem, is honored to be mentioned in Alex’s new book, For The Sender: Love Letters from Vietnam.
CBS 8 News – Service Dog for Veterans
August 12, 2015
Biggs Harley-Davidson located at 1040 Los Vallecitos Blvd., Suite #113 in San Marcos, CA, will host a celebrity ride on Saturday, August 29, 2015, beginning at 9:00 am to benefit Shelter to Soldier™, a San Diego-based 501c3 non-profit organization that rescues shelter dogs and trains them to become certified psychiatric service companions for post 9/11 U.S. combat veterans suffering from PTSD and/or TBI (www.sheltertosoldier.org). Radio personality Clint August from 101.5 KGB Classic Rock, Dr. Ken Druck, author and organizational consultant along with Sam Hay from the Oceanside Police Canine Officers’ Association will lead the ride starting at 11:00 from Biggs Harley-Davidson along a coastal route. Motorcycle riders can sign up to participate for a $10 donation in person at 1040 Los Vallecitos Blvd. San Marcos, CA or by calling (760) 481-7300. The event is free and open to the public, who can participate in a variety of fundraising activities throughout the day.
Festivities will begin with a hot waffle bar breakfast at 9:00 am followed by a celebrity meet-and-greet at 10:45 am, prior to the ride beginning at 11:00 am. Opportunity drawing tickets will be available for sale beginning at 11:00 am and a silent auction goes lives for bidding including a tool kit from Cornwell Tools and autographed professional sports memorabilia. At 12:00 noon, a barbeque lunch will be served while the Casey Hensley Band performs, followed by a canine unit show at 1:15 pm by the Oceanside Police Department. Shopping experiences at the Vendor Village will be open from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, featuring Harley-Davidson logo products; all proceeds will benefit Shelter to Soldier™.
Every day on average, twenty-two (22) U.S. veterans and one (1) active duty service member commit suicide (Department of Veteran Affairs) and every 11 seconds an animal is euthanized in the U.S. In the past year alone, the number of diagnosed cases of PTSD in the military jumped 50% and this represents cases that have been diagnosed. Studies estimate that one in every five military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is suffering from PTSD. The services Shelter to Soldier™ provides for free to veterans and animals rescued from shelters fulfills the mission of this 501 c3 organization by “Saving Lives, Two at a Time”. To learn more about veteran-support services provided by STS, call 855-CUS-TMK9 (855-287-8659) for a confidential interview regarding eligibility.
July 19, 2015
Wow! What a pleasure and blessing to be able to see the story of one of our veteran/service dog teams featured in the July/August issue of Yoga Digest. The article is a 4 page spread and shares information about our mission at Shelter to Soldier™, a recent success story and some powerful quotes from veteran recipient Vic Martin and his wife Kacy Martin. Huge thank you’s to Vic, Kacy, Jenn Bodnar for writing this amazing article and to Maxine Chapman (Founder of BuddhiBox Yoga Subscription Box) for helping connect the dots and make this happen. It is so important for people to understand a few things about our mission and the massive impact an article like this has.
Every day, 22 veterans and 1 active duty service member are lost to suicide…every year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized in our nation. This story is about 2 lives we helped save through our program, and by sharing their story we will save many more. The message that is being spread in a national publication like this magazine is this: Hope for many other veterans feeling as though there isn’t any left, hope for the spouse and family of a veteran who also feels there is no where else to turn, and hope for the dogs that are lost, confused, scared, homeless and voiceless.
Shelter to Soldier™ is still a young and small charity and while we aren’t even scraping the surface when it comes to helping veterans in the masses and saving tens of thousand of dogs directly, we understand the immense value of each and every life, 2-legged and 4-legged. Shelter to Soldier™ will continue to grow and help others but we understand that we can’t do it alone. We are so thankful that Yoga Digest has shared our story on this platform, so that we may touch the lives of so many more individuals who are seeking support in the face of adversity.
Please, take the time to purchase this issue online or by hard copy on a newsstand near you, or purchase the yearly subscription of Yoga Digest to receive motivation to be your best self. You will get to read the entire article about Shelter to Soldier™, Vic Martin and his service dog Kira (Kira the Service Dog) as well as many other great pieces that Yoga Digest offers for families in this issue. We can’t continue our mission without the kindness of people sharing it, and in this case Jenn Bodnar and Yoga Digest did that for us. They too can’t continue to help organizations like us if we don’t support them.
Visit this link to subscribe: http://yogadigest.com
Blessed and grateful,
Shelter to Soldier™