PAWS for People Community Newsletter: Late September, 2022

PAWS was happy to provide pet therapy at the Seventh Annual Rylie’s Dog Days of Summer 5K to benefit the Rylie’s Smile Foundation on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th at the American Legion Post 17 in Lewes, DE.

Rylie’s Smile Foundation is a nonprofit focused on bringing the smiles back to sick children and their families by helping them achieve a better quality of life through health education, technology devices, advocating for treatment options for seriously sick children, and supporting research of less toxic therapy.

Rylie’s Smile Foundation is named after Rylie Maedler, now 16, who endured extensive surgery and rehabilitation following an aggressive bone tumor diagnosis at age 7, and later dealt with a seizure disorder.

Teams that participated: Tucker & Alexis Daisey, Iris & Amy Feinberg, Mallie & Gail Hamman, Jaxx & Sandy Kraft, Peanut & Tina Maclary, Bodie & Caroyln Mohr, Macey & Terri Mohr and Ellie & Margo Orland

Now that we've Stepped Off for this year’s month-long cumulative marathon, it's time to track your miles and raise funds for PAWS! On Saturday, October 15th the fun and fundraising will conclude with an in-person Cross the Finish Line Celebration at Glasgow Park in Newark, DE. Don’t worry – it’s not too late to register and join all the tail-wagging fun. Register today!

Parks Challenge: Walk in 5 different parks by September 30th and email photos of each to events@pawsforpeople.org for chance to win a $100 Target Gift Card. The clock is ticking to explore new trails or stroll through your favorite parks – and don’t forget to take a selfie!

New! Fundraising Challenge: Have 7 donors support you by October 7th for a chance to win a $50 Wawa Gift Card.

Our very exciting news is that we have a group of anonymous donors who have agreed to donate $10,000 to PAWS for People if the WAG & Walkathon can reach its $50,000 goal. A huge thank you to all of you who have already started fundraising and/or made an additional donation when you registered. You are helping us reach this goal! An additional $10,000 of funding will greatly increase our ability to bring PAWS pet therapy’s special brand of comfort, encouragement, and healing to our community!

Don’t forget to track and report your miles. Mileage reporting is on the honor system. You can submit your mileage totals daily, weekly or all at the end. The first 100 people who complete their 26.2 miles and report their totals will receive this year’s WAG & Walkathon car magnet. Mileage must be reported by noon on Friday, October 14th to be included in individual, team and event totals and to qualify for awards.

Please send mileage updates to events@PAWSforPeople.org and include:

• Your name

• Your team name

• The number of miles to add to your total

Important Dates:

Now - October 15 - Cumulative marathon walking, running, swimming, Walkin' & Talkin', and visiting mile tracking

Saturday, October 15, 9 AM - 1 PM - Cross the Finish Line Celebration Location: Glasgow Park, 2275 Pulaski Highway, Newark, DE 19702

• The in-person Cross the Finish Line Event is a celebration, marking the Walkathon's end but also inviting us to gather and reconnect. This festive event will feature doggie games & contests; vendors; awards for mileage tracking, fundraising, and team building and give you lots of time to see your old PAWS friends and make some new ones.

• Check out the full schedule at https://www.pawsforpeople.org/finishline/

• Our theme for this year’s event is WAG Your Tail on the Trail and we hope you will share that spirit of tail wagging fun as you log miles and raise funds to support PAWS for People’s life-changing pet therapy programs.

Everyone who raises at least $100 by the end of the event (October 15th) will receive this year’s limited-edition long-sleeved WAG & Walkathon t-shirt. These shirts will be ordered at the conclusion of the event and delivered to everyone in early November.

Yogi (Linda Walter) was happy to DeStress the drivers and staff at the Blood Bank of Delmarva in Dover, DE recently.  

Jax (Adele Chalabala) is hanging out waiting for readers at the Laurel Public Library in Laurel, DE

PAWS for People pet therapy has been helping people in so many ways throughout this time of continuing challenges. All of this is made possible by the many wonderful people who believe in PAWS for People… people like YOU!  PAWS’ generous supporters and our amazing and dedicated volunteers, humans and pets, ensure that connections continue and PAWS pet therapy programs and visits are provided to people of all ages.

We are grateful for all that you do and want to share highlights of the lasting impact that you are making as you help to improve lives… Thank You!

“I just had an interesting encounter at Target. Mr. Gibbs and I were just walking around when a lady came up to us and asked if we visit at Seasons Hospice at Christiana. I said, "Yes, we do."  She then went on to tell me how much it meant to her five years ago when her Mom was in hospice. She told me how they still talk about how the dog came in and was a great distraction from the sad situation. I was so glad she remembered Gibbs even five years later!”

~PAWS Member, Tawanda Harbison

PAWS has been recognized by the Delaware State House of Representatives under House Resolution no. 24. Guess why?

The Resolution starts off by saying:

“Recognizing the importance of service dogs and therapy dogs and the people and organizations who train and support them.” That’s us! That’s not only us, but it is us.

Sponsored by Representative Siegelman on behalf of all Representatives, the document lists a whole page of WHEREAS statements. My favorites are the following:

WHEREAS, therapy dogs are trained to work in clinical, school, and home settings where they provide therapeutic comfort and affection to people in stressful environments, children learning to read, socially isolated older adults, people with cognitive or physical challenges, and people with terminal illnesses (see, that’s us!)

WHEREAS. PAWS for People partners with the State of Delaware and DEMA to provide volunteers and therapy dogs to support people affected by natural disaster like fires and floods

And

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of the 151st General Assembly of the State of Delaware that the House recognizes the public health and societal benefits of service and therapy dogs.

BE IT RESOLVED that the House of the 151st General Assembly of the State of Delaware supports and thanks service and therapy dogs, volunteers and organization like PAWS for People for the valuable public service that they provide to the State.

There’s more, but you get the idea. The State of Delaware is recognizing us for the wonderful therapy work our volunteers provide. Thank you PAWS therapy teams for a job well done.

~Lynne Robinson, Executive Director

Sue, Tom, Alfie & Axle

Sue and Tom Good celebrated their 15th Anniversary with PAWS this year. They started with their golden retrievers Grace and Mercy, followed by Archie, and are currently visiting with Alfie and Axle – affectionately known as the A-Team. PAWS has only electronically tracked volunteer hour since 2015, but if you average out their hours, Sue and Tom with their pups have easily logged 7000+ volunteer hours. Wow!

The Goods and their pups have received Masters Certifications, PAWS of Fame, and many other PAWS honors. They are true PAWS Ambassadors and recently enjoyed representing PAWS as National Dog Show

Therapy Dog Ambassador Teams. Sue, Tom, and the A-Team currently visit Nemours, Vaughn Correctional Center, and several different schools and libraries with PAWS for Reading. They also make frequent appearances at Community and DeStress Events.

Many thanks to Sue and Tom for all that they do for PAWS and for sharing your wonderful goldens. Cheers to Alfie and Axle for being therapy Rockstars – keep on rockin’!

Bev & Lexi

Bev Parnell and her Standard Poodles first joined PAWS for People in April of 2008. First visiting with her beloved Missy and Sabrina at ChristianaCare and Nemours Children’s Hospital, she now visits with her sweet Lexi.

Bev has been a PAWS member for 14 years and has volunteered over 500 hours because she is happy to be able to give back to the community and to bring joy into people’s lives through pet therapy.

Bev and Lexi became Master's Certified in July 2018 and are a devoted PAWS for Reading team. Together, they have read with children at the Bear Library, the New Castle Library, and the Newark Library. They also participate in Community Events such as Barnes & Noble.

Thank you, Bev, for your many years of service and for sharing sweet Lexi with PAWS. Thank you, Lexi, for being a kind and loving visitor with everyone who needs your furry friendship.

Thanks to our PAWS Partners