CHAMPS: A Year in Review
- MLI Staff
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
2025 has been a busy and impactful year for MLI’s Children Against Mines Program (CHAMPS)! Since 2003, CHAMPS has engaged schools and community groups across the United States, connecting students, teachers, and local leaders to learn about the devastating impact of landmines—and how they can play a meaningful role in building a safer, mine-free world.
These presentations feature a live mine detection demonstration by MLI’s canine ambassador, Rico Cosby, who shows attendees how mine detection dogs (MDDs) help restore safety by “sniffing out” landmines. Inspired by Rico’s work, students fundraise to sponsor a new MDD. Once their dog is sponsored, students name their MDD and receive reports and updates on their hero dog’s lifesaving work. To date, 55 lifesaving mine and explosive detection (EDD) dogs have been sponsored by school children through the CHAMPS program, two of which were sponsored this year!
In 2025, CHAMPS engaged with over 3,400 students and community members! These events took place at schools, after-school clubs, libraries, and so much more! During the most recent CHAMPS trip, which took place from November 10-14, 2025, MLI's education team facilitated 10 demonstrations, presented to four school classes, and engaged with almost 900 students!
This year, MLI completed the Rico’s Reach campaign, an effort named in honor of our canine ambassador, which successfully raised $20,000 to sponsor a new Mine Detection Dog. The dog will be named CHAMP in celebration of the program that made this achievement possible. Rico himself was once a CHAMPS-sponsored dog, serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina before retiring and becoming MLI’s K9 ambassador—making this campaign a meaningful full-circle moment. Thank you to everyone who contributed; your generosity makes this life-saving work possible!
2025 also marks the 30th Anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the Bosnian War. In honor of this anniversary, MLI took a trip to Dayton, Ohio, in October to meet with community members at a public event held at the Dayton Public Library.
MLI also launched the "Dayton Dog" campaign at this event, a campaign that aims to raise money for an MDD named Dayton in honor of the city's role in bringing peace to Bosnia & Herzegovina. In honor of this campaign.
This year, CHAMPS introduced four “Science of Sniffing” classes designed specifically for middle school students. These sessions teach the science behind landmines and their detection, giving older students a way to stay engaged with CHAMPS through a curriculum that aligns with their academic interests and coursework.
After traveling to six different states, raising $20,000, and providing presentations to dozens of different schools and community groups, it is safe to say that 2025 was a successful year for the CHAMPS program! Thank you to all of the teachers, students, parents, and supporters who help make this program possible. It is your generous support that allows important programs like CHAMPS to continue running. If you are interested in donating to a CHAMPS mine detection dog campaign, please click the link below. If you are interested in scheduling a school visit, please email anne@marshall-legacy.org!