Charity
Part of our Mission at IndyHoodRats is giving back to our community. We do our best to find local charities so that the donations get put to use right here in Indiana. We also look for charities with minimal Admin fees, because with the higher those fees the less money that goes to the cause.
No charity or cause is too small to deserve attention. We are happy to use our platform to help bring awareness to causes, no matter what they are or their size. Feel free to reach out to us with any recommendations on charities we should look into that would benefit from using our platform by sending us an email at charity@indyhoodrats.com.
Giving back is really at the heart and soul of IHR, and we genuinely love seeing the support our customers give to these charities! Please help us spread the word about the charities we have listed on this page so that we can do all we can to get their stories out!
-the IHR Team
Unleashing abilities for Indiana adults, children and veterans living with disabilities.
The selected charity to highlight for our French Lick Road Rally event is the Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN). Read below to see why this organization is so special and why we felt it’d be the perfect partner for this event! We’d love if you’d help us out by bringing a cash donation to the launch for this rally! They also have an Amazon Wishlist that you can purchase directly from so that the items they need get sent directly to them! ICAN Amazon Wishlist
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”Indiana Canine Assistance Network (ICAN) began in December 2001 to service Indiana residents who live with a disability. Our founder, Dr. Sally Irvin, knew that service dogs are catalysts for positive change — one dog can impact so many different people, and they remind us daily what unconditional love is all about.
We started our service dog training program at The Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility, where incarcerated teens interacted with the puppies. Back then, ICAN actually had two A’s; we were the Indiana Canine Assistant and Adolescent Network (ICAAN). We originally focused on teenagers: at-risk youth, incarcerated adolescents, and those with disabilities.
Although teens could effectively teach young dogs, we realized their bigger need was to experience the unconditional love and healing a puppy could give. So, we became ICAN with one “A” and now work with adults who are incarcerated. These individuals lead the training for our service dog.
On Valentine’s Day in 2002, we delivered three puppies to the Rockville Correctional Facility. Eager inmate handlers awaited their new pupils: Casey and Bud, both Golden Retrievers, and Nora, a petite Labrador. With a modest annual budget, a core group of 12 dedicated volunteers began to build our foundation! By the following year, ICAN expanded into two more correctional facilities, and we tripled our budget and number of dogs.
Fast forward more than 20 years later, we’ve been able to place more than 250 service dogs with clients, and more than 300 incarcerated handlers have trained our dogs.
Currently, we have more than 60 handlers and dogs-in-training at three correctional facilities, a small but mighty team of 11 employees, and more than 250 volunteers.
We’re also honored to be the only service dog program based in Indiana that is accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI). We renew our accreditation every five years, which lets us continue impacting hundreds of lives every single day.”
—>From the website: https://icandog.org/our-story
