Charities

SALUTE, INC. passionately pursues meeting the financial, physical and emotional needs of the military service members, veterans and their families. We strive to raise awareness of their sacrifices and provide a safety net to ensure every military family is treated with honor and dignity.

SALUTE, INC. was founded in 2003 by Will and Mary Beth Beiersdorf of Arlington Heights, Ill. Shortly after 9/11, Will, a Naval Reservist, was called to active duty and deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 13 months. The severe financial impact his deployment had on his family came as a startling revelation.

While Will was serving in Cuba, Mary Beth was overwhelmed with the magnitude of what she and their three sons were facing. In addition to the lack of finances, Mary Beth and her children coped with the fear of the unknown and the emotional strain caused by their separation from Will.

With the help, support and outpouring of love from family, friends, their church and their community, they were able to survive. Upon Will's return, both he and Mary Beth felt the need to "give back" by helping others who were experiencing similar hardships.

In 2003, they decided to start an organization whose fundraising efforts would be based around a yearly Memorial Day Family Run/Walk. After sharing their vision with family, friends and pooling their resources, Salute was born!

SALUTE, INC. is now a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides financial support for our military men and women through a variety of fundraising activities.

For more information, visit www.saluteinc.org.

Save-A-Vet.org

     There are thousands of dogs being used by the military and law enforcement today. Unfortunately, when they are injured or retired, many of them are unable to find suitable homes to live out their days in peace. Due to their training, a majority of these dogs cannot be adopted out by regular families. We’re here to provide a comfortable home for these FORGOTTEN SOLDIERS.

A little history: Military Working Dogs have been used by the U.S. Military since WWI. It has been estimated that these courageous canine heroes saved more than 10,000 lives during the conflict in Vietnam.

Today all branches of our Armed Forces are utilizing Military Patrol Dogs specializing in Drug and Bomb/Explosive detection. There are approximately 600-700 of these canines in the Middle East in such places as Kuwait, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. They are being used to patrol Air Bases, Military Compounds, Ammunition Depots and Military Check Points. They are guarding and protecting our Military Personnel as they were trained to do, with Courage, Loyalty and Honor.

The military states: "A deployed K9 saves a minimum of three to five soldiers a day." That's a bare minimum of 1,095 to 1,825 soldiers a single K9 brings home per year.

Save-A-Vet is a 501(c)(3) organization set up to provide a comfortable atmosphere in which these Forgotten Soldiers can live out the remainder of there life. In addition, our goals once at 100% strength, is to provide disabled, injured and retired military and law enforcement veterans, housing and employment to help us care for these Forgotten Soldiers.

For more information, visit www.save-a-vet.org.