San Diego Gulls Announce 2018 “Pucks & Paws” Calendar to Benefit Shelter to Soldier
By Eva M. Stimson
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League. The local team, San Diego Gulls, is launching their 2018 annual calendar to benefit Shelter to Soldier, featuring 12 Gulls players with Shelter to Soldier service dogs on each calendar month of the year.
The “Pucks & Paws Calendar” is available for sale in person at a San Diego Gulls game and through the San Diego Gulls mobile app; all proceeds will be donated to Shelter to Soldier, a San Diego-based non-profit organization that adopts dogs from local shelters and trains them to become psychiatric service dogs for post-9/11 combat veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Disorder (TBI) and/or other afflictions associated with traumatic combat experiences.
Unsigned copies of the calendar are available for $15 and a limited number of autographed copies are available for $30 each. In addition, the San Diego Gulls are launching an invitation to a “Pucks & Paws” event at a San Diego Dog Park on March 11, 2018, with a donation of $50 that includes an autographed copy of the calendar. Calendars may be purchased in section 10 on the concourse at a San Diego Gulls game beginning on January 19, or via their mobile action app ‘DASH Auctions’ (available for iOS and Android users) as a ‘Buy it Now’ item. (All calendars purchased on DASH will require an additional shipping and handling fee of $15. The calendar will be mailed to the billing address provided in the payment information section).
Shelter to Soldier Co-Founder and President Graham Bloem comments, “We are extremely honored and grateful that the San Diego Gulls have selected us as the charity-recipient of their calendar program for 2018. Our non-profit organization has earmarked these funds to help serve the deserving U.S. military veteran men and women who are waiting to be paired with a psychiatric service dog through our program. Our veteran waiting list continues to grow and we could not fulfill each request without the help and support of our partners, such as the San Diego Gulls. Each sponsored service dog serves the critical role of psychological support to his/her veteran handler.” Additional “Pucks & Paws” event information will be provided to those who qualify by Friday, March 2, 1018.
To learn more about veteran-support services provided by STS, call (855) 287-8659 for a confidential interview regarding eligibility. Shelter to Soldier Co-Founder, Graham Bloem, is the proud recipient of the 10News Leadership Award, The Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Real Heroes Award, Honeywell Life Safety Award and the 2016 Waggy Award. Additionally, Shelter to Soldier is a gold participant of GuideStar and accredited by the Patriot’s Initiative. www.sheltertosoldier.org.
