The JAVELAN program of the First Responders Foundation would like to sincerely thank the NE Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star for the very generous gift of – drum roll please …….$22,845! That will make a huge difference in the lives of veterans and retired first responders in need of service dogs.
Each year the Grand Matron and Grand Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star raise money for a non-profit organization of their choice. Dottie Arent, Grand Matron and David Wetrosky, Grand Patron of the 2021/2022 session selected JAVELAN for their yearly project. The organization has donated funds to JAVELAN for a few years but this year JAVELAN was the special focused project. Funds were raised throughout the year and the first $10,558.15 was raised!
Each year all the individual Chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star come together for a Grand Chapter Meeting. At the meeting this year Mike Kraus, Director of the JAVELAN program was presented with the $10,558.15. They held a silent auction at the meeting to raise additional funds for JAVELAN.
Recently, Mike Kraus and Patrice Monnier, First Responders Foundation’s Director of Social Media, meet with Dottie and David along with Jan Thomas, Grand Secretary of Eastern Star at the Grand Chapter Headquarters in Lincoln NE. At that time JAVELAN was surprised with the second check from the silent auction in the amount of $12,287. Dottie and David would like to thank the membership for being so generous and supportive of the JAVELAN program and for their assistance in helping those needing a service dog.
The NE Chapter has made service dog projects and organizations their focus for fundraising. We can’t thank them enough for the donation to JAVELAN and their continued support of the program. This donation will support more than four JAVELAN Teams! For more information on the JAVELAN Program or if you or someone you know needs a service dog click here.
The Order of the Eastern Star is an international fraternal order comprised of both women and men with religious convictions and high spiritual and moral values.
Click here to watch the video of Mike Kraus receiving the donation at the Grand Chapter meeting.