So, our first official blog is going to be about something serious. Sorry guys, no funny jokes here. But in all honesty, it’s a good thing to talk about, and I think everyone will enjoy reading about it.
Every year, we as a hospital, try to do something for a local group around the holidays. Usually that group is some sort of animal rescue or shelter group. Normally we try to get donations of items, like blankets, toys, food, etc. to take to the rescue or group. This year we are switching it up a little bit. This year we are going to talk about Champs!
What is Champs you ask? Well, it stands for Coaches, Handlers and Many Paws. They are an organization that helps intellectually and physically challenged individuals. They call these individuals handlers and they are paired with a coach and their dog that has been obedience trained or a dog trained to be a therapy dog. The handlers get to learn how to give simple commands such as walk, sit, down, and several other basic commands during their sessions.
Why is this important? This teaches the handlers skills that will help them in everyday life situations. By interacting with the coaches and the other people, they learn interpersonal skills, and communication skills. They learn how to communicate, as well and learn cognitive thinking and can gain improvement in their speech, self-confidence, self-esteem, as well as many other things.
So how exactly are we wanting to help with Champs? Each handler must pay a fee of $50 to join the program. Our goal is to sponsor at least one handler for Christmas. We would love if any of our clients would be willing to donate to help us out with our goal. Any amount will help (even a nickel or a dime!) to get us there.
If you would like to donate, you can stop by Monday through Thursday and leave your donation with Dr. Miller. She is our point person for this year’s Charity Collection.
We appreciate all our clients, and thank you all in advance for any help!
You can visit their website at www.champsfoundation.org if you want to learn more from them.