Army Sgt. 1st Class Charles "Chuck" Shuck needs your help.

The former Lansford man, who is currently residing in Stafford, Virginia, has started a campaign to purchase approximately 500 copies of the American Humane Association's book "Gabe: The Dog Who Sniffs Out Danger" for the children in kindergarten through third grades at Panther Valley Elementary School this upcoming school year."I want people to know that Panther Valley is a special place to grow up," Shuck said of his campaign. "We have good people in our small towns and I hope to see the area come back to where it was at 20-30 years ago, but that will only happen if people care."Even though I have been gone for almost 19 years, my blood is black, gold and white, and Panther Valley will always hold a special place in my heart," he said. "Gabe and I used to go to schools and talk about staying in school, working hard and respect so I wanted to do something special for the kids of Panther Valley. Reading is so important to me and I could not think of a better way than educating kids on the importance of a military working dog."Gabe, a yellow Labrador who won the heart of millions through his work as a bomb sniffing dog in the military and was the 2012 American Humane Association's Hero Dog, was Shuck's best friend until his unexpected passing in 2013.Since then, Shuck has kept his memory alive through Gabe Nation, a mixture of plush toys, the Gabe book and his Facebook site Gabe to the Rescue, which aims to help shelter dogs at risk of being euthanized find forever homes.Shuck said that he chose Panther Valley for this campaign because not all students and their families can afford to purchase books."I know the feeling of not being able to buy a book at the school book fair and this upcoming school year, no kid in Panther Valley Elementary will have that feeling because they will all walk away with a book about Gabe," he said.Shuck credits his former teacher Beth Duke, who introduced him to reading through the book "Charlotte's Web," for building his love of education. He hopes that doing this for the students will build that same love.Shuck is currently looking for sponsors for the campaign.A $5 donation will provide one student with a book. As of Sunday evening, 311 books had already been sponsored.If Shuck exceeds his goal of 500, he also plans to reach out to elementary schools in the Jim Thorpe area to distribute the books there.Shuck then plans to hand deliver the books once the school year begins at the end of August."There are so many kids who live in poverty within our area," he wrote on Facebook. "Skip a coffee one morning or skip something else."Each book costs Shuck $4 and the remaining $1 per sponsor will go to Shuck's other passion, shelter dogs in need of care.Sponsorships can be sent via check, cash or money order with a note stating that they are for sponsor books to Charles Shuck 88 Hayes St., Stafford, VA 22556 or via paypal to

cshuck99@yahoo.com with a sponsor book note in the remarks.Other projectsShuck has dedicated his life to educating others through his work in the Army and after his life was forever changed by Gabe.Other projects he is currently working on include sending 300 Gabe books to Lew Wallace Elementary in New Mexico later this month.He is also looking for sponsors for "Operation Rainbow Plush" to send Gabe to the Rescue rainbow bears and pillow pals to the families of victims of the Orlando, Florida attack earlier this month and yellow ducks in Lane Grave's honor following the Nebraska 2-year-old's tragic death in Orlando last week. The plushes will be sent out Sunday.A $20 donation sponsors one rainbow plush, $50 sponsors three and $100 sponsors seven.Donations can be sent to the aforementioned address with a note of either "Orlando" or "Nebraska" in the remarks.About the bookWritten by Thea Feldman and illustrated by Chris Danger, "Gabe: The Dog Who Sniffs Out Danger" looks at Gabe's work in the United States military, the Amazon.com description says. The book is part of an emerging series based on the annual American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards."Meet Gabe. Gabe had an important job: He used his canine sense of smell to find weapons before they hurt anyone. Gabe saved lives! When he wasn't sniffing out explosives in Iraq, Gabe spent his time cheering up wounded soldiers in the hospital and visiting schools across the United States! Read his action-packed story to find out more about what he did and what made Gabe a hero dog," the description reads.About Chuck ShuckArmy Sgt. 1st Class Charles "Chuck" Shuck is a 1997 Panther Valley graduate who has excelled in the military, deploying to Iraq with Gabe, a shelter dog turned bomb-sniffing Army dog.Over the next few years, they traversed the dangerous terrains of Iraq, completing 210 combat missions.An unbreakable bond between the two was created a half a world away, and following Gabe's retirement from the Army, Shuck welcomed him into his home and heart forever.Gabe died of cancer on Feb. 13, 2013, at the age of 10.Since then, Shuck has dedicated his life to helping animals, school children, his former hometown and school district and those affected by disaster through Gabe to the Rescue, which has over 217,000 followers and multiple projectsFor his efforts, he was named the 2014 Humane Hero award recipient by the American Humane Association.