ICAN is amazing! Our facility dog, Brady, has changed the climate of our school to a more positive and welcoming environment. He has supported not only our students but also adults in the building. If it wasn't for ICAN, this would not be possible!
From the start, ICAN has been so very helpful with application, interview, communication throughout our wait, dog match, training, and follow-up. I have always felt supported by ICAN and know I can reach out at anytime.
I cannot speak highly enough about this program and the supports we have received. I tell everyone who asks about Brady as a facility dog the amazingness of ICAN and positive changes they are making every day.
I am a principal of a school full of kindergarten students. Our ICAN facility dog, Kammie, came to us and changed the culture of our entire building! She's here every single day to comfort our students and sometimes staff members, too!
Many of my kindergarten students are learning English, and Kammie encourages them to talk to her. They know that Kammie doesn't care if you say things the right way or not. They also work hard to learn to read and write and one of our favorite things is when they write for Kammie or read a story to her.
I cannot recommend this agency any higher!
I am a special education teacher in Indianapolis and ICAN provided our school/children a facility dog. I can't begin to explain how our school dog has impacted our children (and staff!). Basil is used every day, all day working with children in our school who are experiencing trauma; children that have difficulties learning; students who earned rewards for hard work and good behavior; and he motivates students to be at school each day. My wish is that every child would have access to a school facility dog. My gratitude towards ICAN is immeasurable. ICAN will always be our #1 organization to financially support because of the large impact I have seen first hand.
ICAN has now come to our family’s rescue for the second time. The first time we met them, they had Charlotte, a beautiful Goldie who brought hope and laughter into our home, opening doors we never knew were there for our daughter. Our daughter grew, but it was Charlotte who helped her thrive. Faithful to the end, Charlotte passed away and our family entered some hard days. Still grieving, our daughter realized she needed another forever friend so we contacted ICAN again. The second our daughter met Dezzie, you could see they were made for each other. The two of them have grown in ways we never thought possible and there is no looking back!
But ICAN is more than just the dogs. We first became interested in them because they gave back - they invested in others through this whole process. The trainers in the ICAN program are amazing! It’s a tough program and holds a high standards for the inmates who want to participate. But the benefits are incredible.
I have to mention support as well. The ICAN staff is second to none. Their leadership provides vision we can all get behind. They are professional and transparent. And yes, they are patient. More than once have they taken time to explain reasoning behind everything from dog behavior to the importance of handler training to the “next steps” for their organization. One thing I don’t think people realize is that when you go with an ICAN service dog, they are right there with you for the long haul. From the annual in-person check-ups (thank you, Sandi!), availability for questions of all kinds, or even to share tears of pain and grief, in the 14!years we have been involved with ICAN, they have been there EVERY single time. You cannot put a price on that.
ICAN opened a new world of possibilities for our daughter. For our family, ICAN became the key to opportunities that were never there before.
My name is Adria. i am an ICAN client living in Bloomington, IN and I received my ICAN service dog Thomas in September 2021.Thomas is a three-year old yellow Lab and is duly trained to assist with challenges resulting from mild cerebral palsy diagnosed at birth and an autism spectrum disorder diagnosed at age 15. *Please note that ICAN is not currently training service dogs to assist clients with autism.
Thomas is a successor dog to my former service dog Lucy, whom I was partnered with for 11 years, and retired in the fall of 2021 at age 12 shortly before Thomas and I were matched.
Let me begin by saying I feel so fortunate to be part of the ICAN family. Having Thomas in my life has allowed me to continue living the fulfilled, meaningful young adult life Lucy first allowed for me and having him along in my day to day life has allowed me to further my sense of independence and confidence immensely.We go to the grocery store together each week, to work giving lectures on autism and learning disability in children and adolescents, to the bank, to the coffee shop, and out to dinner with friends and family just like any other young adult. Thomas, or "Mr. T." as he is known around town has helped me to feel more confident in social situations and develop several reciprocal peer and community relationships and to be able to provide a safe sense of independence and freedom by helping me to safely cross streets. He also helps by picking up and retrieving dropped or hard-to reach objects on cue and providing balance assistance.
I think what a lot of the public does not understand about the autism spectrum is that many young adults with autism can be very bright, highly intelligent, and perform very well academically but may lack the social and emotional skills, without direct instruction or intervention, to secure successful and meaningful employment after high school.
I finished high school with a 3.5 GPA and completed a 4-year college degree. However, for several years had no prospects for employment due to struggles with social and emotional communication. So, having a service dog became my full-time job and chief responsibility. I tell people today that yes, now I have a job and I love it, but the best job I have is the one I'm not actually paid for: Working with Thomas. To have a living creature who needs me every day to teach him public etiquette and behaviors, what is appropriate and what is not, is the best and most rewarding thing I have ever done. In only a year and a half of partnership, Thomas has shown me he is more than capable of being gainfully employed for at least the next ten years. He makes every day so much fun!
I also want to say that what interested me about ICAN was not just the fabulous dogs that graduate their program, but the people behind the success of these dogs. Behind every successfully placed ICAN dog is an army of individuals from all over the state who work to get them her ready to explore the world with their client The staff has always been amazingly supportive and positive and they invest so much care and attention into their dogs from the moment they are born until that dog passes away, not just until graduation. My parents and I are so pleased we chose ICAN as a service dog organization. The experience has been absolutely amazing.
We have had our dog, Hoosier, for not quite six months. He has changed our entire family dynamic in the short amount of time we have had him. We all love him so much! My son Jordan waited 11 years for this dog, and he was worth it!
The entire process of getting Hoosier was AMAZING. The folks at ICAN are wonderful, passionate, understanding, and so helpful! While this is still a learning experience, I know that I can make one phone call and have all my questions answered.
Thank you to anybody that donates or is involved in ICAN!
I've been an ICAN volunteer for 6 years and these have been some of the most fulfilling and joyful years of my life!
My story? My children were grown, I was divorced and our family dog, whom I'd been sharing with my ex-husband, passed away. I really missed having a dog in my life, but wasn't sure I wanted one 24/7. I had free time now and I wanted to determine how best to enjoy it, balancing donating my time to a worthy cause and having "me" time.
ICAN looked like the perfect pairing for me: It was a VERY worthy cause, AND I would get to spend time with smart & loving dogs on a short-term basis that I controlled.
As a surprise bonus, through my participation in many ICAN activities, I've met and gotten to know so many wonderful people of all ages and backgrounds, several of whom have become very good friends.
The whole premise of the ICAN program appealed to me. The dogs are trained by select inmates in 3 nearby prisons. The volunteer's role is to take a dog for a 3-week period to expose it to new places and situations that can't be replicated in prison: car rides, grocery stores, playgrounds, etc. The dog returns to its handler for more training before going out with another volunteer 6 weeks later. So many people benefit from this program; the handlers, the clients, the dogs and the volunteers! I love being a small but important part of that chain.
In addition to furloughing adult dogs, I've Puppy Raised several from 8 to 16 weeks of age, been a Litter Host 3 times which means 3 litters of adorable puppies have been born in my home and, assisted by other volunteers, I have cared for them until about 4 weeks of age. I'm also a mentor for new furloughers, helping them through their first 3 dogs. There are many different ways to help that keeps it from ever becomes boring!
I've loved learning new dog handling skills and gaining a deeper knowledge of dog behavior and body language. And it's an amazing experience to follow a dog from birth to graduation and to have had a small part in its success. I see myself continuing with ICAN for many years!
I started volunteering with ICAN summer of 2021. At the time my kids were ages 5, 3, and 1. When I first contacted ICAN, I was assuming I wouldn't be able to do much with the dogs since I had three young kids. However, they love families with kids because the dogs don't often get exposure to them, although they need it! Since joining, I have furloughed a few dogs, puppy raised, and done litter sitting (where you get to play with and cuddle... I mean, work with... little tiny puppies) for two hours
Year in and year out, my family continues to find ICAN to be an incredibly impactful organization worthy of any financial support, volunteer time, and energy we can offer. Finding an organization that allows young children to volunteer in a significant way can be difficult, but the ICAN staff and volunteers have been beyond welcoming and kind to my three children, as well as my husband and me. We have been able to cuddle, feed, and play with puppies in their first two months of life and helped raise a puppy for the first time this fall. Numerous dogs in training have spent a furlough of weeks to months with us, attending extracurricular events, practicing skills in the grocery store and other public places, walking the neighborhood while kids scootered and biked, and all in all learning how to live in a home with a family! We all have loved volunteering with ICAN for the past four years. It truly has been a joy to see these dogs in training grow into service dogs who bring help, hope, and happiness to the lives of their forever owners.
I have been volunteering with ICAN for 5 years now and have helped in a variety of roles; fundraising, educational tabling, furloughing dogs and puppies in-training for 3 week periods of time, and so much more! I started with ICAN through ICAN at Indiana University, a student organization dedicated to volunteering, educating, and fundraising for ICAN. There are over 400+ student advocates many semesters. The volunteers give this organization their all to make it successful each and every time and it feels great to be apart of a community that really cares about ICAN's mission and success. There is no better feeling other than when a dog that you know, or helped raise, is able to graduate and change someones life for the better.
I have been involved with ICAN since 2015, first as a donor, and more recently, as a volunteer. When I retired in 2022, my husband and I went through the training class to be furlough volunteers. As a furlough volunteer, my role is to have a service dog in-training stay in my home while he/she is on a 3-week furlough from the training he/she receives in the prison. During this time in my home, I reinforce the training the dog has been receiving in the prison, and expose the dog to every day social situations. It is very rewarding to be able to have hands-on experience with these wonderful dogs. And it has been a growing experience for me as I continue to learn how to work with the dogs. I have been impressed with everyone I have met at ICAN, both staff and volunteers. Everyone has a strong commitment to changing lives: for the inmate handlers and the client who receives a service dog, and everyone (including the volunteers) in between.
This nonprofit does so much good, for so many! Every year they serve over two thousand children with disabilities! I have worked for or volunteered with at least 40 nonprofits over the years...I found the staff and volunteers at ICAN to be exceptional! Really dedicated, kind.
And they run efficiently--their Annual Report says: "Of every $1.00 donated, $.87 goes directly for training and lifetime support of our dogs and their clients."
I have been involved with ICAN for 16 years. The mission is to transform lives on both ends of the leash; and I have witnessed many partnerships that have done just that - from mobility asssitance to community engagement - ICAN brings hope and idependent living to many.
Review from Guidestar