On Saturday, the Marblehead VFW will be alive and well with music, meet and greets with some four-legged friends, food, and drinks, all for a good cause.
The VFW has partnered with Company 2 Heroes, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization helping veterans connect with and train service dogs, for a fundraiser benefiting the organization’s service-dog training program, which is free for all qualified veterans.
The event will begin at 8 p.m. and will feature live music from the Guy Ford Band. Admission is free and donations are welcome, with all proceeds going toward Company 2 Heroes.
Kate Van Auken launched the organization in 2017 after adopting her own service dog following multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The organization started out slowly, as Van Auken handed out flyers and brochures to promote the training. The first few training sessions with service dogs and veterans began at a doggy day care in Wenham.
The program quickly expanded and soon moved to Essex Tech in Danvers, where it called home for four years. Now, Van Auken is in the process of applying for a grant to construct a veterans outreach center, which would include mental health counseling on one floor and service-dog training in the basement.
The volunteers are currently training at the Danvers National Guard Armory.
“We believe our program is ideal for veterans because veterans are really good at training and learning and passing it on,” Van Auken said in an interview.
Van Auken added that providing service dogs to veterans can be extremely beneficial because it helps them find a purpose.
“They have a dog right away. They have a mission right away. They have a purpose right away,” she said. “They have to train this dog and it gets them off the couch, it gets them out of their funk and starts them on a path to becoming more independent.”
The program helps veterans from all wars, but mostly veterans of recent wars, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Van Auken, there are currently 35 veterans in the training regiment, with a dozen who have become certified.
“We look forward to the publics’ support and of course anyone who knows a veteran struggling with posttraumatic stress to come meet the dogs and find out more about the program,” Van Auken said.
For more information about Company 2 Heroes, visit company2heroes.org or email info@Company2Heroes.org.