The City of Gilroy will officially honor Mary Cortani, founder of the local nonprofit Operation Freedoms Paws, by presenting her with a framed resolution at their Jan. 7 regular meeting. This recognition is for her work through OFP, as well as for her laudable volunteer service for Second Harvest Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, a charitable event called “Christmas in April,” and as a canine instructor for Monterey County search and rescue dogs.
An Army veteran of 14 years and former Army Master Instructor of Canine Education, Cortani was one of 10 finalists in the running to become CNN’s “Hero of the Year.” Cortani was awarded $50,000 for making it into the top 10, but the top honor and $250,000 prize went to a Nepalese woman, Pushpa Basnet, who runs a nonprofit home in Kathmandu for children whose parents are incarcerated in government prisons.
Since its inception in 2007, “CNN Heroes” has received more than 45,000 submissions from more than 100 countries and profiled more than 180 heroes. Approximately 24 people were profiled by CNN in 2012. That group was then whittled down to 10 people and included Cortani.
Cortani started OPF, a 501 (c3) nonprofit, in Gilroy in 2010 with the aim of matching handpicked rescue dogs to compatible OFP participants – many of whom struggle with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Cortani then trains the dogs and the participants together as a working team to help support the well-being and raise the quality of life for the participants. Operating out of the large warehouse 8425 Monterey St. (also occupied by the Gilroy Compassion Center), the organization spearheads a 32-week training regimes for human-dog teams.
There are currently more than 80 OFP participants, which consists mostly of veterans as well as a few teens and individuals struggling with seizures or hearing impairments.
Click here to learn more, get involved or donate to OFP.
