Tonya De AgostinisCvet’s Pets, a local charity started by Blue Bomber Canadian Football League (CFL) alumni Chris Cvetkovic, along with title sponsor RONA, will be hosting the 7th annual charity event Ball for the Brave.
The event is being held at The Metropolitan Entertainment Centre in Winnipeg on March 5th, 2020, and offers dinner, auctions, honourable guests and speakers, and much more. One hundred per cent of donations and ticket proceeds will go towards helping provide starter kits for Military Veterans and First Responders with a service dog.
About Cvet’s Pets
Cvet’s Pets is a 100 per cent volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization founded by Cvetkovic in 2012. To date, the charity has provided over 400 starter kits to veterans and first responders with a service animal. These starter kits include everything needed to own an animal and are free of charge to the veteran or first responder. The charity provides these kits and ongoing support to individuals across the country that have dogs from all organizations.
“Chris’ charity meets a staggering need throughout Canada,” said Dave Howard, president and founder of the Canadian Legacy Project, a national charity that provides access to important services for veterans including housing, education, training, and support services.
“Service dogs can mean the difference between life and death for traumatized veterans. What Chris and Cvet’s Pets has done is fill a need for soldiers transitioning to civilian life. It’s not an easy process. I’d say half of the vets coming out now are struggling. You leave the military, you have PTSD and can’t work, and it takes up to a year to get your pension or disability,” said Howard.
A Heartfelt Event
The event will feature speeches from two military veterans who have volunteered to share their stories and experiences with PTSD. Each year Cvet’s Pets invites new military veterans, first responders, and their families to share their stories at the gala and give a firsthand experience of what it is like to experience PTSD and how it impacts their lives and the lives of those they care about.
“A couple of years back, a woman from Saskatchewan spoke about her husband, who was a military veteran experiencing PTSD and the impact it had on her and their family,” Chris remembers. “There was not a dry eye in the house as she spoke about how her traumatized husband and their marriage was saved by a service dog, I still choke up thinking about her recounting that experience,” says Cvetkovic.
For additional information about Cvet’s Pets and other future events, please visit their website here or email the organizations here.
