Veteran & Civil Servant Outreach Award – Presented by Hearts & Science

Combat Recovery Foundation is a veteran-led nonprofit dedicated to effective, evidence-based suicide prevention for first responders, military veterans and trauma survivors at no cost. The organization restores purpose, community and connection for trauma survivors, especially combat veterans. The organization’s teams deploy to the front lines of crisis, from wildfire recovery to habitat restoration, using service as a tool for healing. Through peer coaching, mission-driven work, and community engagement, Combat Recovery Foundation helps veterans reclaim their identity and thrive beyond the battlefield. Whether clearing land with chainsaws and pack animals or building resilience in the backcountry, the goal is simple: give every warrior a new mission worth living for.

Jason’s Box is an all-volunteer veteran’s support group offering free healthy outdoor activities to catastrophically injured servicemembers, giving them an opportunity to participate in outdoor activities that they enjoyed prior to their injuries as well as opportunities to try new healthy activities to improve mental wellness and reduce veteran suicide. Most Jason’s Box participants are multi-limb amputees who need extra help that their families and/or the VA cannot provide or afford. Jason’s Box was founded by Gold Star mother Teri Johnson after her son, US Army Corporal Jason Pautsch was killed in Iraq in 2009. Jason’s Box events are free to the selected servicemember(s) and his/her family or medical escort. Activities include equine therapy, beekeeping, fishing, horse farm tours and racing, off-roading, shooting, reloading and hunting, kayaking and agri-therapy.

For over 35 years, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) has led the nonprofit community’s effort to end veteran homelessness in Minnesota. MACV’s nationally recognized model is driving the statewide effort to sustain the effective end of veteran homelessness by creating unique pathways to stability — one veteran at a time. Working across every region of the state, MACV delivers unique permanent and supportive services to veterans facing the most complex barriers. From building over 200 dedicated housing units to integrating legal, employment, healthcare and financial navigation, and landlord partnerships, MACV serves the most vulnerable veterans — those often excluded from other systems. By operating statewide and aligning local community, state and federal partners, MACV ensures veterans not just find housing — but stay housed.

Project Sanctuary is dedicated to transforming the lives of at-risk military families nationwide. Founded in 2007, Project Sanctuary is a nonprofit built on the belief that when one person serves, the whole family serves, and the entire family deserves support. Through immersive, evidence-informed therapeutic retreats and up to two years of ongoing case management, families are equipped with the tools to reconnect, heal and thrive. Project Sanctuary's programs are open to all branches of service: actively serving, veterans, retirees and service members in the guard/reserves. Families are welcome regardless of discharge status, combat veteran status, and/or disability rating/identification. These retreats provide a safe and healing environment where families can focus on rebuilding relationships, enhancing communication, resolving conflicts and promoting mental and financial well-being.

Shelter to Soldier is a nonprofit organization that adopts dogs from local shelters and trains them to become psychiatric service dogs for post-9/11 veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury or Military Sexual Trauma. The Shelter to Soldier program also places emotional support animals with active-duty military, veterans, Gold Star families and first responders. The Shelter to Soldier Canine Ambassadors are a team of certified therapy dogs and their volunteer handlers who provide no-cost visits of love and comfort to local military personnel, veterans and their families through community engagement. In 2025, Shelter to Soldier launched a Morale Dog program, which rescues dogs and trains them to become (facility) therapy dogs for US Naval ships while on deployment. This program serves thousands of sailors and marines during the time they need the most emotional support, while underway and protecting our country.