Gracie is one of the children who received a $1,000 Rise Family Grant from CNF. Here is a message from her family.

“Our daughter’s service dog was due home this past spring. COVID delayed the completion of her training and subsequent delivery. She finally made it home though in late July and quickly proved herself to be worth the wait! Auggie is a loyal companion, which is a gift in and of itself. But, more than that Auggie is trained to alert to oncoming seizures, a job she takes very seriously. Auggie keeps our daughter safe, and affords her a level of independence she hasn’t experienced in years. Auggie’s skill set delivers peace of mind to both me and Gracie and is worth her weight in gold. Unfortunately, as smart as Auggie is we have learned you can’t fully train the “puppy” out of a dog. And one night when we were all sleeping Auggie chewed up a toy. And it made her very sick. And we had to rush her to the vet. And those bills paired with COVID-related expenses, such as increased child care and food costs could have been catastrophic. But the grant, which we’d planned to apply to those things and a small upgrade to the backyard therapy and play area came at just the right time. Auggie is now well again and loving and supporting her girl and we’re more cognizant of what she can get to! Thank you again!” – Cara