Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast, brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: So we're recording at the Hershey Lodge. It is Tuesday, so our second night here, I saw this very gorgeous golden retriever. Right. Is that what kind of a dog Maverick is his name, and said, oh, my gosh, this is a beautiful dog. And he gave me a little pashe and then I convinced you to come over and talk to me.
[00:00:45] Speaker C: So, yes, ma'.
[00:00:46] Speaker D: Am.
[00:00:46] Speaker C: Thanks so much for the opportunity.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Yeah. So introduce yourself. Tell us about you.
[00:00:49] Speaker C: My name is Chris Powers. I'm a retired United States Marine. I was wounded in Iraq in 2008 when I lost my leg to a failed limb Salvage in 2010. And I bounced around for a couple years and cut my teeth in nonprofit work, and that led me to Leashes of Valor. Leashes of Valor was founded by Marine Corps Captain Jason Haig, who was wounded multiple times through four deployments with the Marine Corps. He founded Leashes of Valor in 2019.
And we've been full scale ahead trying to raise, train, and deliver service dogs to wounded, disabled vets free of charge.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Wow. And so where are you based?
[00:01:23] Speaker C: We're based out of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Which is smack dab between D.C. and Richmond.
[00:01:27] Speaker E: Right.
[00:01:27] Speaker C: On 995. We have a 10 acre facility that we use to basically adopt, raise, train, and give away service dogs to, you know, veterans that are in need.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: That's amazing. And so that process for training and giving a dog, wait, like, do you have them for several months or so?
[00:01:44] Speaker C: We try to adopt them as early as possible.
Everything from like 12 weeks to at least that first year.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:50] Speaker C: Like, we are not a rehabilitation facility. So. So there is criteria we are looking for, but our catchphrase is one leash saves two lives. So we try to adopt every dog that we can train and repurpose and give them to a veteran to ultimately save their life. Hopefully bring them back into society.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Sure. I have a friend that received a service dog. She's a military vet and had a lot of trauma coming out of her service and got a lab through an organization.
That dog man saved her. It really did.
[00:02:20] Speaker C: I think all dogs, they have this innate ability to really, you know, see through the mask we put on every day. And if there's a problem, they're going to come, you know, demand to be touched, you know, to take that weight off them. So, you know, when our veterans come to us, what makes us unique in the K9 nonprofit world is we're an in resident facility. So when our dogs are ready, we bring those veterans from wherever they reside across the country to us. And they live in our facility and stay with us for 10 days while we train them how to use, you know, the dog that we have trained for them. So.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:02:53] Speaker C: It's almost like, you know, having a Ferrari and handing the keys to a 16 year old that doesn't know how to drive it. Like, that dog can do a million things and it's harder to train the veteran than it is the dog.
[00:03:02] Speaker A: Sir. Sir.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: It's an overall life changing experience for them. They come to us, you know, looking for an answer and then, you know, they're walking back into their lives being able to be functional again, you know, go to that grocery store, go to the movies, take their kids to a sporting event. We judge our wins and losses on the successes that we have. We are fortunate that since 2019, we haven't had a single suicide.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:03:24] Speaker C: We lost our first dog that we put out recently. So that's been. Since 2019, we haven't had to address the issue of, you know, the dog getting old. So it's a lifelong thing. It's a commitment that we make to help that veteran the next phase of their life, hopefully to get them up and active again and back into the society that we need them to be active and.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: So how long have you been connected to the Mitre Foundation?
[00:03:44] Speaker C: For a year. So we're connected with the Mitre foundation through Matt Connoll of Window World, Richmond.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:50] Speaker C: And John Todman of Miwindows. I met them randomly in a parking lot in Virginia at a golf course. And I told them what we were doing and they said we'd love to see more about it. So we had them up to the facility, we had lunch, we had a long conversation, and both of them have been supporting us ever since.
[00:04:05] Speaker A: Nice. Let's talk about dollars for a minute. What does it cost for your organization to train a dog from 12 weeks.
[00:04:12] Speaker C: To 2 years old?
[00:04:13] Speaker A: Yeah, so they're two.
[00:04:14] Speaker C: So. So our minimum is two years worth of training. I believe our number's just over 27,000 for the two years. That's training. That's medication. That's all the surgeries, that's all the gear, the different ways we handle the dog. When it goes to the veteran, it goes with everything they could possibly need. Like, we cover the medical bills. We'll never put a burden on a veteran that's already struggling. So it's a gift of Almost a new life.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah. And that's hard to put a price tag on, but there is an actual cost.
[00:04:40] Speaker C: Yeah, that's our best guess. About just over 27.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: And how many dogs can you handle at your facility at one time?
[00:04:46] Speaker C: So we don't actually keep them in the facility. It's not like a kennel per se. So what makes us special is our community. We have an incredible amount of fosters that allow these puppies all the way up to 2 year olds to live with them in their house, to go to all their kids, sports to. Basically, it's exposure, it's socialization, it's all the good things. Like a service dog is special in the notion that it has to focus on one person in every environment. So if I have a foster that their kids are into swimming, like they're going to swim meets, hearing those loud.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Noises, the claps, the whistles. Right?
[00:05:18] Speaker C: Yep. Same with football, same with soccer.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:20] Speaker C: Active lifestyle. So they're not sitting in the kennel, they're out living until they're ready to be dialed in for whatever that wounded vet is struggling with.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:05:28] Speaker C: The last six weeks, they come back to us for that final polish to whether it's night terrors or it's anxiety, we can really dial them into what they need to be able to do for that veteran when they're paired.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: So then the foster family brings the dog to your facility and then you have training sessions.
[00:05:42] Speaker C: Yeah, weekend fosters. We have, you know, month fosters. We have six month fosters. And it's all based on whatever their schedule is. Like they're donating their life, you know, to let us have that dog in their life. They're giving us that experience that we can't pay for. Like, you can't do that. And like, we were very fortunate to have a community that supports us as they do. We have 22 active dogs right now being trained and fostered in our area.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:06:06] Speaker C: Our waiting list, it's no more than two years. Like, we keep our application shut so it's a closer target for people that are struggling. Like, hold on, we're working on it.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: So if people want to find out more about you and how they can contribute and support your organization. What's your website?
[00:06:21] Speaker C: Yeah, please check out leashesofvallor.org, we're on social media, Instagram and Facebook. Our ladies that run our media are incredible. We call them love stories. You can find all that on our website. It's our success stories, the veterans and the impact that these dogs are having. They really, you know, turn the tide and get them back up and enjoying life again.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: That's amazing. All right, so leashesofvallor.org okay. Awesome. Well, thanks for being here tonight.
[00:06:46] Speaker C: Thank you so much.
[00:06:46] Speaker A: Thanks for sharing about your organization. And let me say hi to the cutest little puppy here. He's so adorable.
[00:06:52] Speaker C: Yeah, please, you can pet him all night long. That's what he's here for. He is Jason Hagg's service dog, but he is our ambassador. He's supposed to meet everybody he can to really show him how much these dogs just change mood in a second.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: They bring joy into every room. So that's amazing. All right, well, thank you for your time.
[00:07:08] Speaker E: Thank you, ma'.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: Am. All right, take care.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: All right, so we are here on the Clear Impact podcast and I was just mingling around and saw a familiar face and so Jordan Evans has decided to jump in and join me and as well as Jimmy Schambach. Jimmy Schambach. Okay, so I know Jordan and I'm going to definitely talk to him tomorrow out on the course. But we are here in Hershey, Pennsylvania at the Hershey Lodge and it's happy hour. We have this great music and lots of people in the background. And so tell me about why you're here.
[00:08:00] Speaker D: Yes. I'm the director of an organization called M28 Ministry and we are one of the community partners for the Mitre Foundation.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Okay, so what is M28?
[00:08:09] Speaker D: Yeah, so M28 is an organization that is dedicated to helping people in sobriety find long term recovery. And so we do this through mentoring. We do practical needs assistance and we build community. We think that's one of our most important aspects to helping people find long term recovery.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I would agree with that. And so where are you located?
[00:08:29] Speaker D: Yeah, we're based out of Harrisburg area and we have a warehouse where we do furniture, which is in New Cumberland, so. Really? Yeah, Central Pennsylvania is our area that we cover.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: Okay, and do you have houses or a center or what does that look like practically?
[00:08:41] Speaker D: Yeah, so we have a couple different things. One is in November, actually. This is a, I don't know, an inside scoop, if you will. We're opening our first affordable living apartment complex. We have a four unit apartment complex in Mechanicsburg. And so we'll be opening that up and running that at a really affordable way for people in recovery. We think that long term, meaningful, safe, good, affordable housing is critical to people in recovery as they change their lives. So that's coming up in Mechanicsburg. We have our furniture warehouse where we give away good used furniture to families. That's in New Cumberland. And every other thing though, we do kind of in person at various coffee shops, restaurants. Wherever people can meet is where we show up and we meet with people there.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: That's amazing. And how big of a team do you have?
[00:09:24] Speaker D: Yeah, so we have three full time people on staff and we have about 40 volunteers that do different things for us all throughout the week.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: Okay, well that's not small.
[00:09:32] Speaker D: No, I guess that's not small.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: That's a lot. Like 40 volunteers and three full time staff. That's sizable.
[00:09:37] Speaker D: Yeah, I think that's true. Yeah.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: So how do you get the word out about what you're doing? Just through word of mouth and various churches and other organizations or how do you connect?
[00:09:46] Speaker D: So we connected especially with Mitre foundation through our connection with Amanda Klinger and Billy Klinger. Billy works with my brother in law and heard about what we do and he helped us move in one of the women we were working with into her new apartment and set up a stove and all sorts of things. And then Amanda got connected with us. So yeah, that was our connection here with the Mitre Foundation. But everything else is really. Yeah, a lot of word of mouth. We do some minor social media marketing and things like that we post on there and things. But yeah, most of it's word of mouth and that's how we get found out. We have a lot of partners in the area too.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Nice. That's amazing. And so Jordan, tell us a little bit about why you're here.
[00:10:25] Speaker E: Well, it's not as astoundingly charitable as that. That is for sure. And hats off to you guys for all the work you're doing. That is an amazing effort and thank you for the efforts you're doing. You're definitely making a difference in people's lives. But I'm here to help raise a little bit of money for the Mitre Foundation. I'll be positioned on whole sticks tomorrow and I'm not exactly sure which hole the following day yet, but I'm up here for the golf outing portion of this. I've been a golfer all my life, pretty much since I was 8 years old, 24 now as of Saturday, and yeah.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: So young.
[00:10:59] Speaker D: Happy birthday.
[00:11:00] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:11:00] Speaker A: Happy birthday.
[00:11:01] Speaker E: So I will Be positioned on a couple par fives throughout the week, hitting long drives for people, taking out the big stick bombs, Hitting absolute bombs. Yes.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: So what's your long drive like? What's an average drive for you?
[00:11:14] Speaker E: So I'd say an average drive, what I'm really going after is about 330, 340 yards.
[00:11:19] Speaker D: Oh, my gosh, that's really far.
I mean, I golf, but not that well.
[00:11:24] Speaker A: And so are you charging people a set fee for this?
[00:11:27] Speaker E: It's essentially a donation of $40 per team. And that's not an individual payment that necessarily. I mean, obviously anybody's welcome to give that 40 for a foursome, but it's 40 per team and I'll be hitting a shot down the. Hopefully down the middle of the fairway for everybody. But yeah, it's just gonna be a good way to connect with people and a good way to raise money for a good cause. Obviously, with the Minor foundation being out here hosting this event, it's all going towards the right place.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: That's amazing. And so it's a four man scramble. Yes. So it's the best ball. Okay. See, I do know a little bit about golf. I'm not gonna play tomorrow or Wednesday, but I will be on a golf cart. I'm gonna be buzzing around and having some conversations with people out there. So maybe I'll check in with you tomorrow and just see how it's going.
[00:12:06] Speaker E: Yeah, we'll see you out there.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: 18 different teams tomorrow, or is it 36 different teams tomorrow?
[00:12:12] Speaker E: I do not know.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: Okay, so if you had 18 teams times 4, 3, 6, that'd be like 70 to 720 bucks, right? AM I doing the math?
[00:12:21] Speaker E: Something like that? It is per team, though. So it's gonna be 40 times that. 18, I believe, right?
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's 720 something.
[00:12:28] Speaker D: I'm so bad at math.
[00:12:30] Speaker E: I'm an engineer and I use calculators.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: So, you know, so I don't know what age bracket you're in, but I remember my teacher saying, you're not gonna have a calculator in your pocket.
Going to have to know this and like, hi, we all have calculators in our hands. We do, but I think it's 720. But still, maybe people will be even more generous tomorrow and they'll be like, oh, that was an amazing shot. Let me give you an extra 20.
[00:12:50] Speaker E: Absolutely. Well, all donations are welcome and encouraged past that 40 if they are so willing and to be generous with that. But obviously $40 for a single shot is generous. In and of itself, so.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: Oh, I don't know. If somebody could hit a 330 yard drive for me, I'd probably cough up more than 40.
[00:13:06] Speaker E: Well, spread that word around, will you?
[00:13:07] Speaker A: I will let them know this is worth way more than $40.
[00:13:10] Speaker D: What happens if you hit a bad drive?
[00:13:12] Speaker E: I hit another one.
[00:13:13] Speaker D: Oh, okay. So they can have until you hit a good drive.
[00:13:16] Speaker E: So I believe. And hopefully this is a very low possibility. But if we just can't get one down the middle, I think we're gonna have a marker out there. Just putting one down at about three.
[00:13:24] Speaker A: Just drop one.
[00:13:25] Speaker E: Hitting them.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I could do that job.
[00:13:27] Speaker E: There you go.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Like, just go drop one in the middle. Yeah, that's.
[00:13:29] Speaker E: And then come interview me and say, jordan, what happened there?
[00:13:32] Speaker A: No, we're only gonna talk about the good stuff.
[00:13:34] Speaker E: All right, sounds good.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, I heard a little announcement, so. So I don't want to keep us, but I appreciate your time. Thanks for coming over and chatting.
[00:13:41] Speaker D: Thanks for having us.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: Thanks for having us. Yeah. And thanks for being here, both of you. This is going to be fun today.
[00:13:45] Speaker E: Absolutely.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: And tomorrow. All right, take good care.
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