During this Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, Ben announces the seventh grant award of the 2018 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

dog-thanksgiving-turkey-480x320The Foundation will be distributing a grant to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, just outside of Mile High Stadium where the Steelers will play the Broncos on November 25th.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will use the funds to purchase and train a K-9 for law enforcement detection work as well as canine-hard releases (hard release is a term for returning a wild animal to the wild, but giving the animal a definite dislike of humans and dogs).

“There are only 220 Wildlife Officers to patrol all of Colorado’s 104,185 square miles. However, thanks to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation, a new addition will be added to their ranks; a trained K-9. This K-9 will not only aid in the apprehension of those who seek to exploit wildlife, but will also be trained in canine hard-releases on bears and mountain lions that have come into conflict with people. This non-lethal tool will serve to keep wildlife wild and keep people safe. Furthermore, the K-9 will serve as an ambassador for wildlife management to Colorado’s public. On behalf of the wildlife and the people of Colorado, I want to thank the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for providing this opportunity!” — Wildlife Officer Ian Petkash.



During the 2018 NFL season, Ben’s foundation will continue to distribute grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area. Last summer, the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.


If you’d like more information about the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation you can visit Ben’s Foundation page. For more in-depth information, please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.


Fans:

You can help support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to Ben’s foundation.