PAWS for People Community Newsletter: Early March, 2023

Long time New Castle resident Marge Piscitelli fulfilled one of her lifelong ambitions - to finish writing a children’s story that she started 30 years ago. Her aspiration came true, and on August 29, 2022 The Legend of the Great Mystical Oak Tree was published on Amazon, available on Kindle and paperback.

It is the story of Queenie the Squirrel and Buster the Blue Jay, who become best friends. Their friendship is at the heart of a storyline, fraught with danger and self-discovery. An Enchanted Forest and a legend hold the key to what they are searching for. But how will they find it?

Marge’s motivation in writing the book is not to seek personal financial gain. It is, however, twofold - one is to raise funds for animal organizations, in honor of her rescue dog “Buddy” who passed away in 2020; two, is to have her book become part of the reading curriculum throughout the regional school districts. Proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to three Animal organizations: PAWS for People, Canine Partners for Life and Chenoa Manor Animal Sanctuary,

Marge was invited by Wilmington’s St. Elizabeth’s Catholic school’s librarian, Carole Welch, to present her book to the students, on Friday, February 17th. The event was well attended by 130 students, who were gifted with bookmarks, crafted by the author herself. The kids were very engaged, and curious about the writing process. A young boy approached Marge at the conclusion of her presentation and informed her that he and his cousin were now going to write a book. Marge’s message to him and the students was “Be creative when you write…as your imagination is limitless.”

To order Marge's book click here.

Pictured below: Students at St. Elizabeth's School and the author photo for the book jacket bio featuring Marge and PAWS' member Jude Donavanik’s Kiki.

Murphy (Deb Yardley) loved his first visit at Friends Home in Kennett. He received many hugs and was told "you made my day!"

Hank (Janine Politz) provides his loving visits to the residents at Arbor Terrace - Willistown in West Chester, PA.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended this year's PAWS for People Conference and Annual Meeting held on February 25, 2023 at Christiana Care's Ammon Educational Center.

It was a PAWSome day filled with informative workshops, great food, and an inspirational keynote presentation. It was especially wonderful to be together in-person once again.

Special thanks to:

Our Keynote Speaker

Danielle Downs, DVM, First State Urgent Vet & Walk-in Wellness Care

Our Workshop Presenters

Elaine Johnson & Heather Daniels - What’s All the Buzz About Grain-Free

Janice Baldwin-Hench - Is Pet Therapy Right for You & Your Pet?

Luann D’Agostino Manley - PAWS for Reading Training

Gina Zanella-Sample, PsyD - The Brains Behind Pet Therapy

Danielle Downs, DVM - Pet First Aid & CPR

Gina Zanella-Sample, PsyD - PAWS Autism Initiative

Marilyn Huebner - Basic Spanish to Enhance Visits

Karen Powell - Dog Training: Clear Communication using Marker Words

Karen Powell - Dog Training: Advanced Skills for Visiting

Sue Good - PAWS to DeStress

Ashley Nixon DVM, CVMRT, CVSMT - Pet Massage Techniques

Our Sponsors

ChristianaCare, Hillside Heating & Cooling, Concord Pet Foods, Financial House,

Ford’s Auto and Truck Service, the Chahalis Ward Group at UBS

Our Committee

Aileen Murray, Marilyn Huebner, Tawanda Harbison and Sheryl Taylor

Our Volunteers

Terry Balascio, Dave Myers, Donna Ianire, and Winston Robinson

Our Food Donors

Dom’s NY Style and Tony’s Café

Our Vendors

Art by Miss T, Origami Owl, and First State Urgent Vet

 Special thanks to ChristianaCare for hosting our event!

PAWS participated in the 2023 Do More 24 Delaware campaign on March 2 & 3 with the goal of raising new friends and funds to support PAWS for People. Wow… amazingly generous support from 123 new and existing donors raised $6,046 (including $2,200 in challenge prizes.) The final total will include the incentive bonus funds to multiply the impact of every donation… enabling PAWS to Do More!

 We are thrilled and so grateful to all our wonderful supporters. Your response fills our hearts. You are sustaining our programs and making PAWS' joy possible for more people in 2023.

For the entire month of March, store leadership at Giant Food’s 300 Eden Square, Bear, DE location has selected PAWS for People to receive a $1 donation from every purchase of the $2.50 Giant Food Community Bag.

The Community Bag Program facilitates community support with the goal to make a difference in the vicinities where shoppers live and work. More than $400,000 has been donated to over 1,400 local nonprofits since the Program launched in July 2019.

Do you have a restaurant gift card you will never use? A vacation home with an open weekend? PAWS annual Spring Fling Luncheon and Silent Auction is scheduled for April 23rd; you can help us raise funds to support PAWS pet therapy programs by donating items like these to the silent auction.

Popular items include: experiences such as – performance or sports tickets, a round of golf, a stay at a vacation home, a gift certificate from a local restaurant, and items such as new gardening tools, games, cooking equipment or tools, and other items that can be part of larger, themed baskets.

More details about the event and how to purchase tickets will follow soon. The funds raised at the Spring Fling will allow PAWS for People to continue to provide vital and much-needed pet therapy throughout our community. Thank you for your consideration and support!

The Amazon Smile program has officially ended. Since 2014, PAWS has received 61 donations for a total of $5,657. Every dollar helps and we thank everyone who “shopped to help PAWS!”  

Denise & Ivy, Stella & Franklin

Denise Lopes has been a committed PAWS volunteer for nearly 10 years, logging almost 600 visiting hours with her wonderful therapy companions. 

In 2013, Denise started her PAWS journey with a big, lovable golden retriever named Roger who always brought smiles to everyone he met. Following in Roger’s footsteps are Denise’s three current PAWS therapy companions. Ivy, an English Lab, began visiting in 2020. Stella, a Dachshund, and Franklin, a yellow Lab, both joined Team Lopes in 2022. 

Denise and her pups have supported many programs including PAWS for Reading in both schools and libraries, senior visiting, community and DeStress events, the Autism Initiative, visiting the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, and more. She is always willing to take on the difficult visits where our teams are most needed.

Thank you, Denise, for sharing your huge heart and your amazing pups with the PAWS community. We greatly appreciate your ongoing support of the PAWS mission and the joy that Ivy, Stella, and Franklin spread to everyone they meet.

Tish & Kira

Tish Gallagher joined PAWS for People in May of 2011, with her charming, Siberian Husky, Zeke. This Master’s team enjoyed visiting with the patients and families at Nemours Children’s Hospital, where Zeke helped to ease the patient's worries and put smiles on their faces. Tish and Zeke also visited with the kids at the New Castle Library, to encourage their love of reading. Zeke was an amazing pet therapy companion and visited with Tish until 2019, when he crossed the rainbow bridge.

In October of 2021, Tish began visiting with her adorable, Siberian Husky, Kira. Tish and Kira also enjoy reading with the kids at the New Castle library. In addition, this dynamic duo shares furry love with the students at the UD Early Learning Center. Kira’s sweet personality is just what the kids need to brighten their day. Tish has also supported PAWS for People, by helping with our new volunteer training since, February of 2019.

Thank you, Tish, for your ongoing support of PAWS for People and the community. We are so grateful. And thank you to Kira for the endless energy and love you share with all you meet.

Thanks to Our PAWS Partners