The Indiana Canine Assistance Network was presented a gift of $1.5 million from Carmel residents Mike and Judy Harrington for the expansion of the organization’s ability to place service dogs within Indiana.
Mike Harrington was the senior vice president of Eli Lilly before he retired in 2020.
The ICAN facility, 5100 Charles Court, Suite 100, is a nonprofit in Zionsville that trains and places service dogs with children and adults with disabilities.
“We’ve been witness to ICAN’s mission for several years now and believe in what they are doing to create possibilities for people,” Judy Harrington said. “We desire to see the organization get to the next level, and this gift is to help transition their programming so they can serve more people.”
According to its website, ICAN’s service dog training and placement program enriches the lives of children and adults with disabilities by helping them discover a more independent, productive lifestyle. The nonprofit also partners with incarcerated individuals during the training process to help provide inmate handlers with a “new sense of hope and worth.”
“Since 2002, we’ve seen so many lives transformed by our service dogs,” ICAN President Jilian Ashton said. “However, the training process is extensive and takes an army of staff, volunteers, community partnerships and donors to make each placement possible.”
The ICAN training process, from birth to placement, takes about two years. The organization trains and places approximately 25 service dogs per year. Currently, 54 people in Indiana are approved for a service dog with an average wait time of 2 1/2 to three years.
“The significance of this gift will give us the opportunity to take ICAN to the next level, to expand services, hire some key positions, and ultimately, build the necessary infrastructure to reduce the wait time for clients to receive their service dog,” Ashton said.
Harrington is a long-time volunteer with ICAN and firmly believes in its mission.
“ICAN has transformed my life since becoming a volunteer nine years ago,” Harrington said. “I began volunteering for ICAN so I could pet and love on a puppy, but my eyes were quickly opened to a huge number of other and bigger assets this program provides.”
