Operation Freedom Paws, the nationally-renowned Gilroy organization that matches service dogs to US war veterans as well as special needs clients, has snatched up a competitive grant from the local philanthropic Gilroy Foundation.
Janet Wenholz, volunteer pooch trainer for OFP, said the $4,500 award will go toward rent. The organization currently operates out of the industrial building on the corner of Monterey and Leavesley roads, where trainings for veterans and their newly adopted canines are held several times per week.
“That interaction helps brings the veterans back into the community, gets them interacting with others. It’s just an amazing thing to see,” Wenholz said.
OFP draws veteran clients from all over the region – everywhere from King City to Napa – and has recently gained national recognition through CNN’s list of Top 10 Heros in 2012.
The maximum competitive grant awarded from the Gilroy Foundation is $5,000, so a $4,500 award is a huge honor, Wenholz said.
“We submitted an application with a rather large stack of others that I saw there, so we are very happy about this,” she said.
Gina Anderson, Gilroy Foundation’s assistant director, said that of 47 applicants, 21 local organizations received varying degrees of grants, totaling $46,640 in awards.
“(OFP) is just a very worthy cause,” Anderson said.
Mary Cortani, founder of OFP, has the special gift of finding the right dog for a veteran in need.
“She somehow always know how to pick the right dog for that person’s needs,” Wenholz said.
Recently, OFP has begun to branch out from Iraq and Afganistan veterans to Vietnam survivors as well.
“As Vietnam vets retire they’ve got more time on their hands, and with the conflicts that are going on now it’s bringing back issues they’ve never dealt with,” Wenholz said. “It’s just amazing to see people change through this process.”
