Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Helping others a continued way of life
When a soldier ends his active duty, he returns home and never really deploys on missions in the same way.
Many veterans miss not only the camaraderie of their fellow servicemen but the responsibility of serving and protecting others. Sheep Dog Impact Assistance leverages that by organizing former military members and other emergency personnel to help veterans in need and civilians during times of natural disaster.
Based in Rogers, the national organization has a presence of thousands of volunteers in 22 teams across 33 states. Three of those teams are in Arkansas, keeping watch on the Northwest, River Valley and Central Arkansas and surrounding states.
“Our organization is made of paramilitary, some who are still on active duty, policemen, firemen and EMS personnel,” says Jason Richardson, team leader for Northwest Arkansas. Richardson served in the Marines during the mid-1990s and discovered the nonprofit through a friend of his,
another former Marine.
“Like birds of a feather, we tend to still talk and congregate together [even after service].”
Primary for him is the ability to help veterans readjust to civilian life by finding a group of people they can form close relationships with and spend time together, whether in volunteer efforts or not.
“We want to take care of our own,” Richardson says. “In hard times, when someone gets injured on the job or active duty or is coming off of deployment and has trouble assimilating back into society, we give them outlets to keep them engaged.”
A week ago, a group of “sheep dog,” the term they use for people who have dedicated their lives to helping others, went scuba diving to an underwater memorial. This weekend, another group will do a spartan race (an adventure course not unlike a mud run) together. Coming months have plans for skydiving and hunting.
When natural disaster strikes, these teams of closely bonded friends set out for the affected area as soon as they’re able to coordinate. Some crews are as tight as six people, while others have 20 or 30 pooling their manpower. Having a fluctuating volunteer list helps, Richardson says, because natural disaster is rarely convenient.
“Unfortunately, disasters don’t happen at the best times,” he says. “They’re during holidays, birthdays, anniversaries or major soccer tournaments for your kids.”
Hurricane Katrina and the Moore, Okla., tornado are among the most recognizable disasters where Sheep Dog have rushed to aid in the past, but they assist many regions throughout the year.
This summer, volunteer teams responded to eastern Kentucky, which was recovering from the worst floods the state had seen in 20 years, and Fairdale, Ill., which had tornado damage. Richardson and his crew load bottles of water, chainsaws, generators, first aid kits and plenty of safety gear to prepare for some hours or days of cleanup, repairs and making sure disaster victims have the necessities.
Patching roofs and cutting through mangled chain link fences, removing debris and chainsawing logs isn’t glamorous work, but it gives sheep dogs satisfaction to help out.
“It is rewarding to be able to help others, to be there in those times of need,” Richardson says. “The opportunity to deploy out with several members of our organization gives you the chance to build strong relationships and continue your service … and a chance to help others who may not be able to help themselves at that time.”
The relief requests vary from location to location — and Sheep Dog always start with the basics. But they also like to provide a little extra assistance whenever they can. On Richardson’s most recent disaster relief run to Fairdale, his team provided a new playset for a little girl whose playhouse was torn down in the tornado.
Active service isn’t the only way to further Sheep Dog missions. An upcoming Patriot Day brings a full weekend of entertainment and activity for the whole family. Ticket proceeds go toward Sheep Dog Thanksgiving and Christmas programs, which provide holiday meals, gifts and clothes to military and emergency personnel who have families in need.
This year’s event will continue the tradition of flight and skydiving shows, K9 and Jaws of Life rescue demonstrations and opening military and First Responder vehicles and aircraft for tour. New to the festivities is a series of poker runs, which can be completed by motorcycle or car, and a four-person scramble golf tournament.
“The money [donated] to the Northwest Arkansas chapter, 100 percent of it goes directly to our local [Sheep Dog], none of it’s going to anything else,” Richardson says. “It will fund the two biggest events we do each year, adopting families at Thanksgiving and Christmas.”