The following is a letter from our President & Founder, Charlie Petrizzo:
Dear Project 2 Heal Community,
Looking back at 2022, it’s clear to me that Project 2 Heal has reached an inflection point. We’re currently the only nonprofit in the country dedicated to increasing the availability of a service dog through expert husbandry and nurturing of world-class puppies, purpose-bred and donated to be trained by service dog organizations nationwide. Unfortunately, the need for our work only continues to increase.
To meet the great challenges faced by the service dog industry, we must continue to expand our community and impact. As Founder, I’ve experienced our highs and lows firsthand over the past 12 years. With this in mind, I can honestly say Project 2 Heal has never been better prepared to grow into an organization that can meet these significant challenges head-on.
In terms of leadership, I firmly believe that we’ve never been stronger. Our Board of Directors has been elevated to include brilliant executive minds with vast corporate experience and networking abilities. We’ve invested in a partnership with PMA Consultants, an acclaimed nonprofit development firm assisting in fundraising and strategic planning—the latter being a first in our history as a nonprofit. Additionally, we’ve developed exciting relationships with first-time sponsorship partners like the Gary Sinise Foundation to expand our national impact.
To be frank, there is a palpable sense of momentum in the air. Plus, moving forward we will expand upon our mission of increasing the availability of a service dog by striving to empower our nation’s veterans to participate in this rewarding work. We aim to one day develop an educational program for veterans reentering civilian life to learn the trade of service dog training, providing an opportunity for healing themselves while training service dogs for their brothers and sisters in arms.
As I mentioned, the challenges we face are great—which means our solutions must be even greater. As President, I truly believe that we’re laying the groundwork necessary to develop into the organization we must become to properly serve our nation’s many deserving veterans, children with special needs, and adults with disabilities.
All of this will take funding—each of you can play a vital role in the growth of this organization, and in turn change the lives of countless people in need.
Want to LEARN MORE about our impact last year? Click here to download our full 2022 Annual Report!