Companions For Heroes
2 Lives Served!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Ending military veteran, active duty military, military/veteran spouse, children (2-18), law enforcement, first responders, and Gold Star Family suicides and killing of shelter dogs. Since COVID-19, we are heavily focused on children with mental diagnosis of ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and other similar diagnosis. COVID-19 has significantly impacted the mental health of our children.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Companion Dogs
There are 22 veterans that commit suicide every day.
A Companion Dog’s primary function is to provide comfort and emotional support. They help the hero coping with psychological trauma because they require the hero to focus on the dog’s needs. Being walked, fed, groomed and played with redirects the hero’s focus from their troubles to that of the dog, helping the hero regain a sense of purpose. This leads to the hero in becoming active in his or her community.
In addition to the amount of 22 daily suicides, one shelter dog is euthanized every 8 seconds (over 3 million annually). Companions for Heroes has one overarching goal – to help and save as many veterans and shelter dogs as it is able.
David Sharpe, Air Force Security Forces Veteran and Companions for Heroes’ founder, had hit rock bottom. Twice he placed a loaded pistol in his mouth, wishing to end his perceived pains, and twice, the sad eyes and soft touch of his rescue dog Cheyenne prompted him to remove the pistol and consider living. Immediately, Sharpe felt so relieved; like a 10,000-pound weight had been lifted off his chest. Soon after, Sharpe’s family and friends noticed a significant change in his behavior – a reduced number of outbursts, better attitude, and deciding not to commit suicide – all because of this little pit bull puppy.
So, Sharpe set out on a mission to share his personal struggles and success stories with fellow military veterans, active duty military, first responders, military spouses, Gold Star Families and military spouses suffering with PTSD, or similar symptoms. Sharpe’s hope is that Companions for Heroes will aid them in their recovery while at the same time saving some of our nation’s shelter dogs.
Where we work
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of animals rehomed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults, People with disabilities
Related Program
Companion Dogs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
A minimum number of dogs were returned due to the applicant being on active duty military and had to deploy, and did not contact our team to find a foster family until they returned.
Number of service dogs provided to veterans
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Companion Dogs
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Reducing the one military veteran, first responder and law enforcement officer from committing suicide every hour, and reducing the one shelter animal being killed every 8 seconds. Since COVID-19, we are heavily focused on children with mental diagnosis of ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and other similar diagnosis. COVID-19 has significantly impacted the mental health of our children.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Grassroots campaigning, local and national media and press, and educating the local, state, federal police, fire fighters and first responders, to include nurses, EMTs and active duty military, military veterans, Gold Star Families, military spouses and children (2-18).
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Referrals from our Heroes to their colleagues, friends, family and children, to include, rescues and shelters nationwide through word-of-mouth, newsletter, non-profit direct mail campaign and contacts within the local and national media and press.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
A bigger national presence. Our team has served and saved over 1,400 Heroes and shelter animals since our inception in 2009. That's an average of 82 Heroes and 82 Dogs served and saved every year since the organization's inception 17 years ago.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Companions For Heroes
Board of directorsas of 09/19/2023
Mr. Brian Rainey
Companions For Heroes
Term: 2023 - 2026
Brian Rainey
Chair/Treasurer
Daniel Merritt
Officer
Joseph Kauper
Secretary
Randolph Reynolds
Officer
Ray Cralle
Officer
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data