Carolina Canines for Veterans 2010 Newman's Own Award Recipient

General James Cartwright, Vice-Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Presents Awards in Pentagon Ceremony

General James Cartwright, USMC, Vice-Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided remarks at the eleventh annual Newman's Own Award Ceremony at the Pentagon on September 1, 2010, as awards totaling $75,000 were presented to eight non-profit organizations for their innovative programs to improve military quality of life.

Carolina Canines for Veterans was a $10,000 award recipient of the 2010 Newman's Own Award. In 2008, CCFS launched a national program, Carolina Canines for Veterans, to assist wounded warriors with a quality trained service dog using military prisoners to train the dogs rescued from local shelters. Operating entirely on private donations, CCFS trains military prisoners to raise and train each service dog. While there are other service dog training programs for wounded warriors, Carolina Canines for Veterans is the first of its kind to work within the walls of a military prison making it unique in the United States. This is the second year that Carolina Canines for Veterans has received the Newman's Own Award.

Newman's Own, Fisher House Foundation, and Military Times Media Group sponsored the competition, which seeks to reward ingenuity and innovation for programs that benefit service men and women and their families. The challenge is straightforward: "Present an innovative plan to improve the quality of life for the military community and receive funding to carry out the plans."

General Cartwright was joined by Tom Indoe, President of Newman's Own; Fisher House Foundation trustee Tammy Fisher; and a representative from Military Times Media Group, in presenting the awards.

Including this year's awards, the annual competition that began in 1999 has recognized 133 programs with awards totaling $650,000.

A total of 138 entries were received for the 2010 program. Six judges evaluated each entry based on the organization's impact to the respective communities, creativity and innovation.