Carolina Canines for Service receives grant that helps drive community service efforts

WILMINGTON, N.C.- Carolina Canines for Service, Inc. received a $15,700 grant in April from the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation for the replacement of its company vehicle.

For Carolina Canines, the grant couldn't come too soon. The worn-out company vehicle nearly left Carolina Canines President/CEO Rick Hairston stranded in the heat with a client and a service dog due to mechanical malfunctions just last year. Hairston drives to the Camp Lejeune Brig three to five days a week to teach inmates how to train canines to serve wounded warriors returning from duty. Hairston also drives to Myrtle Beach monthly to train service dogs and around the state to deliver presentations.  Stevenson Chrysler in Jacksonville, NC is working with Carolina Canines to provide a vehicle that accommodates their tight budget.

"Without a dependable vehicle we could not offer many of the services that we do," says Hairston "We greatly appreciate the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation grant that will provide us a with new vehicle and enable us to get out and meet people, share our mission and to be more involved in the community."

The Cape Fear Memorial Foundation is a private foundation located in Wilmington, North Carolina. The primary purpose of the foundation is to serve the health and medical needs of the people of Southeastern North Carolina. It supports charitable not-for-profit organizations that provide health and medical services and health education.

Carolina Canines for Service is a non-profit corporation dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to achieve greater independence. The group trains certified service dogs with the help of volunteer foster families, matches the dog to an eligible recipient and provides the dog free of charge. Since its inception in 1996, Carolina Canines has placed 32 service dogs, valued at more than $1.2 million. For more information, call (866) 910-3647 or visit www.carolinacanines.org.