Joint Holiday Event Fundraiser for SEGD Paws for Patriots Program

This year, the Greater Tampa Bay Women in Defense (WID), National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Global SOF Foundation (GSOF) and Florida Defense Contractors Association (FDCA) will join together for a holiday party in December and raise funds for the Southeastern Guide Dogs Paws for Patriots Program.

Last December, we held a joint holiday party that included both fundraising and a silent auction. We raised $31,223.00 for the Paws for Patriots Program at this event!!

The funds received allowed us to sponsor three “Teams for Life”. A team for life sponsorship supports the partnership between the student and a guide or service dog until its retirement. Students receive service animals at about two years of age, and dogs will work until retirement at around ten years of age. $30,000 was applied to supporting three teams for life, and the additional $1,223 was applied to sponsoring a veteran during their 10-day training regimen with their service dog. Attached are the photos and biographies of the three “Teams for Life” we sponsored.

Southeastern Guide Dogs transforms lives by bringing together inspiring people and extraordinary dogs, providing all of its services free of charge while receiving no government funding. Paws for Patriots pairs highly trained guide dogs with visually impaired veterans; exceptional service dogs with veterans living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; well-behaved emotional support dogs with veterans for companionship and emotional support in the home; and calming therapy dogs working in military healthcare facilities.

This year, we’ve set a goal to raise $60,000 at this event to allow us to sponsor six “Teams for Life”. In addition to fundraising activities, we will be holding a silent auction and collecting monetary donations at our event.

RSVP: https://globalsoffoundation.org/joint-holiday-social