Deadline to RSVP for meal is Sunday, May 18
This Memorial Day, there will be a Heroes Helping Heroes Georgia charity benefit for Shelter Dogs for Veterans and Save the Horses, two nonprofits that are helping veterans who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
The fundraiser will take place at American Legion Post 82, on Legion Road in Ellijay, from 3-9 p.m. on Monday, May 26. Dr. Carlton Young, a career U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, is the keynote speaker, and Army Sgt. Sam Melendez, also a combat veteran, is the guest speaker.
A ticket for $60 includes a meal by Rolf Hensche, and two tickets for dinner are $100. Dinner options include schnitzel (Viennese style or Jaegerschnitzel), pan-seared salmon or vegan spaghetti, with fire-roasted tomato soup as an intro and seasonal berry compote for dessert. Organizers urge that if interested individuals or groups of people cannot attend they can instead buy a ticket for a veteran, or give online at shelterdogsforveterans.org or savethehorses.org.
The deadline to RSVP for the meal is this Sunday, May 18. Tickets can be purchased at savethehorses.org.
Ernie Taylor, one of the organizers for the auction, dinner and dance, noted Sharon Callan, the founder and operator of Shelter Dogs, “saves dogs from kill shelters according to the needs of the veteran.”
“She tries to evaluate the dogs according to their personality and what she thinks they’re going to be able to do,” he said. “She then trains them according to the needs of that veteran, along with the veteran. There’s a lot of groups that do this, but a lot of them will train a dog and then give it to a vet, whereas Shelter Dogs for Veterans trains the dogs and the veteran at the same time. The dog goes directly from the shelter to the veteran’s home as soon as it is selected in order to start a bond between the two.”
Save the Horses rescues them from slaughterhouses and brings them to a rescue facility, and trains them for equine therapy for veterans with PTSD and TBI.
“They’re trying to help the veterans through the trauma they’ve been through, but with horses,” Taylor added.
Billed as “Paws, Hooves and Heroes: An Evening of Hope and Healing,” the event will get underway at 3 p.m. with both a live and silent auction set for 4 p.m. Dinner is from 5-7 p.m. with live music and dancing by The Twangers from 7-9 p.m.
“We have over $10,000 of retail value in item pledges up for our auction,” said Taylor. “These items include restaurants, museum and entertainment packages from Chattanooga to Atlanta, a new Henry Golden Boy rifle, a vacation to Savannah, art from local artists, oil changes, ammunition, beauty salons and spa visits, a free Gilmer County Animal Shelter dog or cat adoption, dog training, butcher shop certificates and doggy day care visits, among others.”
Dr. Carlton Young is a “dynamic and entertaining speaker, entrepreneur, veteran, activist, philanthropist and author of the critically-acclaimed book, From Home to Homeless to Success. He has traveled throughout the United States sharing his own personal battle with homelessness, while raising awareness about its causes, effects and solutions,” according to the dryoungspeaks.com website.