SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – A local charity that trains and provides service animals to veterans, and other people in need, will soon be able to help even more people in our community after receiving a $25,000 grant.
The SD Gunner Fund received the money from the Journey For Good Foundation, a non-profit established by HMSHost, which manages restaurants at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
The money will be used to help pair 10 veterans in the Savannah-area community with service dogs.
Britnee Kinard, the founder and CEO of the SD Gunner Fund, says that training service dogs can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000, so grants like the one they’re receiving make all the difference.
“The ability to be able to receive grants like this from locals within our community, as well as on a national level, allows us to keep our doors open, allows us to be able to continue to serve the amazing community that’s here in the Savannah area, and continue to bless these families that need this assistance,” says Kinard.
Krista Readyweets, the Director of Operations for HMSHost, says, “I can tell you my father was a veteran, and there’s veterans out there that need help with PTSD and other injuries, and for them to be able to receive these animals will just improve their life, their quality of life, and hopefully just bring joy to them. So that’s what that means to me.”
The SD Gunner Fund brought two service animals with them to receive the grant: Hilo and Koda.
Hilo, along with two of his siblings, was rescued by Readyweets and eventually adopted by Kinard and her husband, who trained him to be a service dog.
Hilo and Koda were there to help accept the check, and give some love to travelers at the airport.
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