Defender Service Honorees Award

Rescue, rehabilitate, release, and relate: this is the mission of Appalachian Wildlife Refuge, a nonprofit that supports the wildlife rehabilitation network by being licensed to help all native western NC species and by educating the community regarding the critical importance of wildlife conservation and coexistence. Since opening their facility in 2018, they have received over 20,000 calls to their emergency hotline and have provided quality care to over 8,500 injured and orphaned wildlife. Through their work, released species can once again fill their critical roles in the environment, supporting a healthy ecosystem and a sustainable community for all. Every wild life deserves care and understanding, and all support gives our patients a second chance.

The Big Red Barn Retreat in Blythewood, SC provides a tranquil space for combat veterans, active-duty service members, first responders and their families to relax, reconnect, and rejuvenate through evidence-based wellness programs such as yoga, tai chi, equine-assisted therapy, and various levels of post-traumatic growth training. Program participants gain clarity, metabolize stress, and engage in meaningful experiences in a safe and supportive setting, improving their mental, physical, spiritual and financial wellness. Families and groups journey through their own process of changing their stories of post-traumatic stress to one of post-traumatic growth.

CoolxDad was founded in 2020 to uplift, inspire and empower fathers of color, providing them with limitless tools for self-growth and healthy engagement. Through innovative and collaborative programming in the areas of education, financial literacy, art and literature, health and wellness, history and community service, CoolxDad's overall objective is to enhance the fatherhood experience and create generational impact by inspiring the next generation of black and brown fathers. Organizations devoted exclusively to black fathers have been non-existent or largely ignored in the United States. The success of CoolxDad is due in large part to the reality that an organization like CoolxDad provides a crucial societal need – the need, now more than ever, to fully expose the humanity and dignity of fathers of color.

Enjoy Detroit started in 2013 with a passion for contributing positive change to the City of Detroit. They're dedicated to S.E.R.V.E. (Service. Educate. Revitalize. Victory. Elevate.) citizens through programs that strengthen the community, support self-sufficiency and advocate the advancement of youth. Enjoy Detroit has been able to connect with youth through volunteer efforts, consistent involvement in city rehabilitation activities and initiatives and by creating a platform for them to stand united and uplift Detroit.

For 50 years, FeedMore WNY and its over 370 partner agencies have provided more than 5 million people living in Western New York with nearly 509 million meals. FeedMore's long standing mission is to offer dignity, hope and a brighter future by providing nutritious food, friendship and skills training to neighbors in need. Their home-delivered meal program and other feeding programs serve 1.4 million meals every year to more than 6,700 vulnerable seniors. The RISE workforce development program offers free job-training for adults, providing skills, experience and opportunities to help neighbors achieve financial self-sufficiency. FeedMore works to ensure that no one, from infants to older adults, goes hungry, fulfilling the goal to feed those who need to be in line today and shorten the line tomorrow.

Forces of Nature Dance Theatre (FON) promotes urban development for inner-city children in Harlem, NY. In neighborhoods where most children have no outlet of expression, FON has come in and allowed these youth to feel and be accomplished through the art of dance and music. FON has worked with hundreds of kids over the years, with an increasing number graduating and going to college, all because they had something to believe in and look forward to. The kids perform in places such as the world-famous Apollo Theatre, Aaron Davis Hall and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Recently, twenty-three kids traveled to South Africa for two weeks where they performed in the Soweto Theatre (Johannesburg) and the Durban Playhouse (Durban). Forces of Nature Dance Theatre believes there is no limit for the potential of these children.

Great Basin K9 Search & Rescue is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization based outside of Park City and Eden, UT. Their mission is to train and certify K9 SAR teams (handlers with dogs) and then field those teams to help locate missing persons. Since their founding in 2009, they have responded to search missions throughout Utah, and also to Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and Nevada. Great Basin K9 SAR has worked to locate lost hikers, hunters, campers, and victims of natural disasters, building fires, avalanches and homicides. Great Basin K-9 SAR is funded solely through generous donations and grants. Their services are provided at no charge to requesting law enforcement and/or public safety organizations.

Heroes Homestead (HH) provides integrated family support to the military and veteran community, using applied cultural adjustment theory to build compassion and understanding within the family to aid the veteran in their transition home, successfully reducing the suicide rate of the veteran community. Programs adapt to each individual and serve the entire family, from serving to civilian life, covering an expanse of topics including financial, relationships, communication, personality strengths, child development, career and skill development, housing and food support.

Kupu provides unique, hands-on training programs in conservation, sustainability, environmental education, and the culinary arts for young adults. Kupu’s mission is to foster the next generation of environmental and cultural stewards. Kupu’s work is like the role of the kupukupu fern, which is one of the first native Hawaiian plants to cultivate the land after a lava flow. The fern not only serves as a foundational species for rebuilding a healthy ecosystem, but also symbolizes a place where opportunity can grow. Over 5,000 young adults have participated in Kupu’s programs, providing more than 3 million hours of service, resulting in one million native plants being planted and 100,000+ acres of invasive species being removed. Kupu has also presented $5.5 million in education awards to support the continued growth of its members.

The Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN) in Charleston, SC is home to year-round resident dolphins and migrating whales. Their mission is to protect local marine mammals through science, outreach and conservation. LMMN engages hundreds of youth and thousands of community members with over forty outreach events each year. They also serve as the primary first responders to over fifty sick and injured dolphins and whales along coastal South Carolina each year.

Founded in 2009, Midwest Animal ResQ (MARQ) is a small foster-based rescue group focused on saving dogs from inhumane conditions. With the help of dedicated supporters and volunteers, MARQ has grown quickly, as has their capacity to serve the animals and people of the greater Kansas City area. Their Raytown, MO adoption center opened in 2015, and their six-acre sanctuary property provides safe housing for animals needing special medical or behavioral help prior to going to their forever homes. Their mission is to complete families “one tail at a time.”

Established in 1983, Missouri Search and Rescue K9 (MOSAR) is a volunteer organization that utilizes specialty trained canines to assist law enforcement, fire departments and emergency response agencies locate missing people. The resources provided by MOSAR are live find air scent dogs, scent specific trailing dogs, human remains detection dogs, firearms/evidence dogs and disaster dogs. All certified and deployable K9 Teams are on-call 24/7 and services are provided free of charge. MOSAR responds to an average of 35-40 call-outs each year throughout the Midwest.

Founded by Alonzo Mourning in 2003, the Overtown Youth Center (OYC) was created to bridge education, social, emotional, health and opportunity gaps for young people ages 5 to 25 growing up in under-resourced communities in South Florida. Since then, it has grown to be a community resource center serving both children and families throughout South Florida. The mission of OYC is to inspire, empower and enrich the lives of youth and families through education, enrichment and exposure. The organization focuses on uplifting youth and families by offering equitable, high-quality programs and services. OYC fulfills its mission by providing in-school, after school, summer, weekend and family support services. In addition, it has expanded services to include college and career readiness, health and wellness, workforce development, and gender-specific social-emotional programming for youth.

TEXSAR is a first responder organization headquartered in Central Texas. They serve all citizens of the State of Texas and deploy at the request of law enforcement, fire departments and emergency management agencies. TEXSAR provides specialized services such as ground search and rescue; flood and swiftwater rescue; K9 search, rescue, and recovery; disaster relief services; aerial search; UAV support; and dive team operations. TEXSAR is fully self-sufficient, and services are free to requesting agencies and are staffed by volunteers who are trained professionals in their fields.

West Place Animal Sanctuary provides lifesaving care, love and a permanent home to farm animals rescued from cases of abuse, neglect and cruelty. They are also a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center that assists sick, injured and orphaned animals and releases healthy wildlife back into their natural habitats. The only organization of its kind in their region, rescue work takes them to locations across New England, saving animals throughout the East Coast and even Texas. Their network of almost 100 volunteers provides essential animal care 365 days a year, and they provide unique hands-on humane educational experiences to high school and college students to cultivate a more compassionate community. Executing this mission requires proper resources so they can continue to be depended on to advocate for those who do not have a voice.