What Is Soldier to Soldier?

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, approximately 20 U.S. veterans and one active-duty service member commit suicide every day, an average of one life every 69 minutes. What’s worse is suicide rates and cases of PTSD for military members and veterans have been on the rise for years, leaving many to deal with harsh mental health conditions on their own.

Additionally, an average of 1800 dogs are euthanized in the U.S. every day. Shelter to Soldier helps provide these otherwise threatened dogs with a purpose to help a veteran in need. It takes around 12-18 months to train these dogs to be valuable partners and help provide companionship for those soldiers with PTSD. Griffin Funding has made a commitment to help fund the cost of rescuing, training, and partnering shelter dogs with combat veterans suffering from invisible wounds.

STS’s team’s expertise “in training service dogs is unmatched in the field and provides a great platform for us to use these talents to serve our military personnel in honor of their service to our country. The sponsored service dog will serve the critical role of psychological support to his/her veteran handler.” 

The team is accredited by several organizations such as the Animal Behavior College, the Starmark Academy, The National Association of Dog Instructors, the American K-9 Interdiction, and several other prestigious organizations.

They are working on helping those who have sacrificed everything for this country by giving them back just a little bit of normality in their home life, while at the same time giving a homeless dog a new purpose in life and saving them from being euthanized.

Since 2012 they have placed over 40 service dogs with veterans and have trained several other support animals.

Our Partnership

We’re proud to be a red star sponsor for this organization. Griffin Funding has been supporting STS’s efforts since 2014 and we wholeheartedly endorse their mission. We’ve stepped up our commitment to take our philanthropic outreach to the next level by sponsoring at least one dog a year. So far, we have 4 amazing shelter dogs that have been placed with veterans in need to help make their day-to-day life better. 

Why Soldier to Soldier

The VA medical system does not provide or help pay for service dogs for veterans who are suffering from psychological disabilities. It’s been well documented that service dogs have a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of veterans. With the added component of rescuing the dogs from shelters where they would otherwise be euthanized, we’re proud to say we help in saving two lives at a time each and every day.

Griffin funding has always been passionate about helping veterans. It’s why one of our specialties is the VA (Veterans Affairs) loan. It stands to reason that STS’s mission to help our servicemen and women and their fight with PTSD and TBI resonated deeply with us.

How You Can Contribute

Shelter to Soldier is supported solely through charitable contributions from corporations, charitable foundations, and private individuals. The cost of a dog’s journey through the program is $15,000 and includes adoption, safe housing fees, medical care, training, equipment, food, grooming, treats, toys, supplements, testing and certifications, liability insurance, handler training, and graduation materials for the veteran.

If you to join Griffin Funding in helping support Shelter to Soldier and their mission, there are many ways to pitch in:

  • Volunteer – Whether you can help raise funds, or provide your own particular talents, anything helps the organization.
  • Sponsorship – Your company can sponsor a dog/veteran in a red star partnership, or help cover the cost of an event.
  • Fundraising – Help share STS’s mission by raising funds for the expenses of training dogs and matching them up with their prospective new partners.
  • Donate – Your money will be used to pay for training expenses and administrative costs. 90% of our funding goes directly towards the program service.  
  • Shop – Either by using Amazon Smile which will give them a small percentage of every purchase you make, or buying from their wish list on Amazon or Chewy.com will help them with necessary supplies.

If you are interested in contributing to this great cause, visit sheltertosoldier.org, or fill out their contact form. You can also learn more about them via Facebook and Instagram.

Think you can personally benefit from their program? Call 855-287-8659 for a confidential interview.

Other Ways We Support Veterans

Our business model at Griffin Funding concentrates on serving the veteran population through VA mortgage loans in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington for the purchase, refinance, or home improvement of residential properties, so it’s a natural fit for us—we’re proud to donate a portion of the loans we close toward sponsoring STS dogs.

Griffin Funding specializes in VA loans which are designed for veterans and service members, as well as surviving spouses. VA loans are low-interest fixed loans that don’t require a down payment because they are backed the Department of Veteran Affairs. These loans can be used towards buying a home, building a home, or improving a home. We’re proud to offer VA loans that help make buying a home a reality for many veterans and active-duty service members.

Note that if you’re looking to refinance, we also provide VA streamline refinance loans for those who already have a VA loan.

If you’d like to work with Griffin Funding to see if we can help you secure a VA loan, feel free to contact us.