Hand in Paw Newsletter - Fall 2019

2019 FALL NEWSLETTER

GOLDEN

you create smiles

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

You made our year!

Margaret & Nora

“

The mission to improve human health and wellbeing through Animal-Assisted Therapy is alive and well.

THIS IS ALL THANKS TO YOU.

Almost a year has passed since I came to Hand in Paw as the new Executive Director. So long in fact, that hopefully, the word “new” will be passing with 2019. It has zipped by so quickly! The year began with our joyful ribbon cutting in January, followed by many wonderful events; Anna’s Fund Art & Antiques, Mutt Strut, Founder’s Day, Picasso Pets, Paws on Patio, Barktoberfest and a lot of dogs, dogs, dogs and cats. Any given day in our community, there are professional Therapy Teams with glad hearts providing Animal-Assisted Therapy services at no cost. The mission to improve human health and well-being through Animal-Assisted Therapy is alive and well. This is all thanks to you.

I thank our staff, Board of Directors, Community Partners, donors and especially the tireless efforts of our volunteers for a successful 2019. Hand in Paw continues to lead the industry by staying up-to-date on the standard of care and excellence for the practice of Animal-Assisted Therapy. With your support, we have trained more Therapy Teams this year than we have in the last 3 years. We are utilizing the beautiful Children’s Hospital simulation room for the training of our Advanced Therapy Teams. We introduce Hand in Paw to potential volunteers on a monthly basis at our Community Open House events. Last week, new Therapy Teams were evaluated in Tuscaloosa and are joining the dedicated Tuscaloosa Teams already in place.

These are exciting times! There are so many ways to get involved at Hand in Paw. >

Come to an Open House and learn about volunteering. HandInPaw.org/Volunteer

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Order a custom brick to be placed in our garden to honor or remember a beloved pet or loved one. HandInPaw.org/Tribute-Gifts

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Set up an automatic donation to help train new Therapy Teams every month! When you give to Hand in Paw your investment is multiplied many times over. You are not supporting just one organization – you are strengthening more than 80 medical centers, schools and human-service agencies. HandInPaw.org/Donate

- MARGARET STINNETT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SAVE THE DATE

We couldn’t go on without you!

Make plans to attend next summer’s 20th Anniversary of Picasso Pets on August 15, 2020 at Regions Field

A “Pawsitive” Partnership “There is no communication that can’t be accomplished with a dog,” Pam Strange, Hand in Paw Evaluator and 2019 Volunteer of the Year.

This sentiment rings true in Hand in Paw’s No More Bullying® program, which strives to cultivate social and emotional learning skills in at-risk youth using animals as a bridge of communication.

This Summer, your generous donations helped Hand in Paw train Shelley Schneider, Hand in Paw volunteer, along with several Therapy Team teaching aides to lead the very first on-site No More Bullying® curriculum in the Dr. Jim and Katie Lasker Training Center.

Once a week for five weeks, children from Oak Tree Ministries took a field trip to Hand in Paw and participated in interactive group sessions. Through these sessions the children forged bonds that instilled compassion, integrity, and respect for themselves and others.

“No More Bullying® was a great fit for us! All of our activities for children are designed to be trauma-informed, so having therapy teams help teach our kids how to care for animals and one another was fantastic,” said Raquel Patterson, Oak Tree Ministries Director.

With your support, at-risk youth from Oak Tree Ministries are taught to identify and express their emotions in healthy ways.

“Our kids experience bullying or participate in bullying daily... but don’t often have a calm environment to have safe discussion about why bullying is so common and how they can be a part of changing that.”

Your efforts have provided these children with unconditional acceptance by giving them a safe environment to process and express their feelings, boosting their self-confidence and giving them a sense of personal empowerment to deal with future challenges.

Raquel notes, “The program gave our kids confidence as they learned about the proper way to interact with dogs and discovered that they could grasp big concepts like integrity and compassion.

The award ceremony on the last day was a beautiful moment of affirming our kids, reminding them that they can achieve their goals, and that they are worthy of a certificate with their name on it!”

The support of our donors and volunteers make it possible to offer the No More Bullying® curriculum to schools and human-service organizations free of charge. As Raquel so eloquently states, “Each time the children interact with the dogs, there have been special moments that support the healing environment we aim to provide. We are grateful to work together to see our community thrive!”

To learn more about the No More Bullying® program, please contact Tripp Windham at tripp@handinpaw.org

Your support changes lives...

forever!

Libba Lovell was just five years old when she underwent surgery for a brain tumor at Children’s of Alabama. In the months following, Libba’s mother asked her sister Paige to join them for a few of Libba’s 6-week daily radiation treatments.

It was 7am when Paige pulled into the Children’s of Alabama parking garage. She noticed how excited Libba was to get out of her car seat so she could visit again with the dogs that came to the hospital. Soon after parking, Paige saw a therapy dog handler step out of her car, all smiles, with her darling little dog. Libba’s face lit up as she walked the dog inside the hospital, fed it treats, and got it to sit and lie down. “I watched Libba experience joy instead of worrying about her treatment,” says Paige.

Paige was amazed by the whole experience, having officially seen the interaction she had heard about in person. “I had no idea dogs did things like this. What exactly is Hand in Paw? I asked the Hand in Paw team handler, Nena, a lot of questions that day. I remember thinking if I ever have a dog that fits the criteria to be a therapy dog, I’m ALL IN.” Paige’s dream came true in 2017 when she and her Golden Retriever “Captain” passed their Hand in Paw evaluation. “Captain and I are so glad to help others who may be struggling, just like Nena and her dog helped my niece Libba many years earlier.”

But Paige was not the only person inspired to become a Therapy Team after experiencing a visit from Hand in Paw. As Libba was completing her radiation treatment in 2008, she drew a picture of herself with a Golden Retriever that she envisioned having one day, and even told her parents she and her dog would be a Hand in Paw Therapy Team.

Libba at 5 years old

Because of your positive impact, 5-year-old Libba had a dream to one day become a Therapy Team, just like the one that visited her!

With great pleasure we share that this summer, 11 years after meeting a HIP Therapy Team, Libba passed the Hand in Paw evaluation with her Golden Retriever Penny!

Libba is truly a living example of the positive impact that your compassion and contributions have had on so many lives. Hand in Paw gained not one, but TWO new Therapy Teams because of you, our donors and volunteers.

“I am very grateful to be a part of such a special organization. And being able to share the experience with Libba has made it even more meaningful,” says Paige.

If you are interested in volunteering with Hand in Paw, please fill out an application on our website at HandInPaw.org/volunteer Libba NOW!

Thanks to you, Tuscaloosa teams can train in the city!

Teams for Tuscaloosa As more Tuscaloosa facilities request therapeutic interactions from Hand in Paw,

donors stepped up to help meet the demand.

Hand in Paw may be headquartered in Birmingham, but we also have a growing footprint in Tuscaloosa! As our Tuscaloosa Teams become more well known, we’ve started to experience some growing pains – many facilities are contacting us and being added to our waiting list in hopes that one day Therapy Teams will bring their clients comfort and joy. With continuous support, Therapy Team workshops for Tuscaloosa volunteers are now actively being held in the city, making volunteer recruitment and training much more accessible and sustainable for growth.

Hand in Paw Tuscaloosa Coordinator, Carol Develice, explains why training in the city is so vital; “We have had so few teams here for so long. Tuscaloosa is a growing, vibrant area, with needs to be met. As a volunteer, I am asked constantly how to get involved with Hand in Paw. It’s difficult time-wise for people to have to travel to Birmingham for training. Being able to provide that here is essential to our growth.”

The first two training sessions were held at Hospice of West Alabama, with the rest being held at Grace Presbyterian Church. “These two remarkable organizations have supported us every step of the way and have provided us with a working space we can call home. While they provide love and comfort to our community, they provide us with constant reinforcement that our mission here is necessary,” says Carol.

“We are excited about the expansion of our reach in the Tuscaloosa area! We look forward to training more Therapy Teams and improving more lives thanks to the support of our donors and volunteers!”

- Kiersten Atkinson Hand in Paw Director of Volunteers & Programs

At the most recent in-city Hand in Paw evaluation, 3 new Therapy Teams, 2 new Visit Assistants, and 2 Reevaluations were added to Hand in Paw’s Tuscaloosa network!

None of this would have been possible without donors like you.

Your gifts pay for volunteer recruitment, training, and management in both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Hand in Paw, our Therapy Teams, and the many they serve sincerely thank you.

Want to help Hand in Paw expand its reach in Tuscaloosa? Please donate online at HandInPaw.org/Donate or contact Carol Develice at carold@handinpaw.org Evaluations in Tuscaloosa

Welcome New Volunteers

Visit Assistants

Therapy Teams Amanda + Camille

Bailey + Lucy

Becki + Annie

Burt + Elsa

Cindi + Izzy

19 new Visit Assistants recently joined HIP. Be on the lookout for their official pictures on our website and social media soon!

Cyndy + Sadie

Kristen + Luke

Sally + Bubbles

Leighann + June

Sandy + Murphy

Libba + Penny

Tori + Ledger

Linda + Princess Buttercup

Tracie + Lucy

Janice + Margaret

Zac

Retired Teams: Julia Shelby + Stella, Beverly Baker + Keelah • Passed Away: Sandra Gillis’ Josie

Thanks for a furrbulous

PICASSO PETS

Picasso Pets 2019 raised the highest net revenue in its 19 year history! Because of your support, more teams will be trained and placed in additional facilities where they reach the most vulnerable child, adult and senior populations in our community.

Our generous sponsors make it possible to meet growing community needs.

JEFF KOONSDOG TITLE SPONSOR

STAGE SPONSOR

Ken Jackson, Guest Auctioneer

PHOTOBOOTH SPONSOR

VIP ROOM SPONSOR BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC

Sponsors include: ABC 33/40 , Aldridge Gardens, Beth Leonard, Creative Dog Training, George W. Barber Jr. Foundation, Haynes & Haynes, PC, Dr. Jim & Katie Lasker, Judge & Mrs. Scott Vowell, Kim & Corbin Day, Lynn & Benny LaRussa, Marion & Edgar Marx, Jr., Sheryl & Jon Kimerling, This is Alabama, UAB Medicine, Veterinary Eye Care, Xcel HR, Dog Days of Birmingham, Marigold Designs, On Services, The Westervelt Company, Altec/Styslinger Foundation, Avondale Animal Hospital, bigdogranch, Dr. Pete and Kim Weinheimer, EBSCO, Encompass Health, Jeff Morrison, Josh & Jana Randolph, OB/GYN Associates of Alabama, Patty McDonald & Jeffrey Klinner, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Riverview Animal Clinic, Standifer’s Animal Clinic, The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, The Pawms Pet Resort, Valleydale Animal Clinic, Vestavia Animal Clinic

Joy

Jagger is visited by Therapy Teams during his transfusions thanks to YOU!

for Jagger

Your contributions bring comfort to a sick teen and helped launch an updated advanced training program, ensuring more patients in hospitals will be visited by Therapy Teams.

On August 10, 2018, Jagger George and his family’s lives turned upside down. What started as a routine asthma checkup turned into an ambulance ride to Children’s of Alabama. After several labs and scans he was given a diagnosis... Severe Aplastic Anemia. SAA is a rare bone marrow disease in which the body stops producing new blood cells that affects 1 to 2 people per million.

Since the diagnosis, 17-year-old Jagger has gone through several treatments including a failed 3-month round of immunosuppression therapy, a bone marrow biopsy, upwards of 50 blood and platelet transfusions, and a stem cell transplant.

During this trying experience, you have been with Jagger and his family every step of the way. Because of you, Jagger has received several visits from Hand in Paw Therapy Teams that bring glimmers of joy and hope.

“

Jagger’s mother, Misty, recalls visits from Therapy Teams Amy & Brent Hamilton with their dog Buddy: “We saw Buddy almost every Monday at Clinic 8. It was always something to look forward to during his weekly blood and platelet transfusions. It’s the little things that put smiles on your face when you are facing the struggle of your child being so sick. Anything that can bring you joy and take your mind off that, if even for a few minutes, is priceless.”

With your help Hand in Paw was recently able to launch an updated advanced training program that ensures more patients like Jagger will be visited by Therapy Teams. The program incorporates the new Children’s of Alabama Simulation Hospital Room located at Hand in Paw headquarters, which better prepares teams in training for visits in hospital environments.

Therapy Team Georgie Moseley and her dog Stevie helped to lead the first updated training session in August, where she demonstrated her weekly visit to the 10th floor at Children’s of Alabama: “Hospital visits are very different from other visits. It is important to understand the environment and what is unique to that type of visit.”

Lusia MacPherson was one of the eight teams who participated in the newly updated training; “Training in the simulation hospital room gave us the opportunity to see the actual equipment we would encounter in a room on a hospital visit. Georgie’s demonstration in the simulation room made it all seem ‘real’ and thus was a good preparation for Advanced visits.”

Your donations are already paying off, as all 8 teams will soon be visiting in real hospital environments. Advanced training, like all of our programs, would not be possible without you – Thank you!

If you would like to support Hand in Paw’s advanced training program, you can donate online at HandInPaw.org/Donate Georgie demonstrating a visit in the Children’s of Alabama Simulation Hospital Room

BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Idie Hastings Vice President Jennifer Buettner Treasurer S. Rachel Goodson Secretary Jimmy Johnson Member at Large John M. Harbert, II Members Carrie Doescher William Finney Laura Gosney Alicia Kay Haynes Harrison Irons Melanie Lewis Niki Lim Marion Marx Kristen McGee Susan R. Nelms Joshua Randolph Melea L. Sims Goolsby Joan Stelling Scott Vowell Jim Wilson Kimberlea Wilson HIP STAFF Executive Director Margaret Stinnett Founder/Director of Donor & Community Relations Beth Franklin Financial Director Amanda Puskar Director of Events & Strategic Partnerships Ashley Foster Director of Communications Brittany Jennings Tuscaloosa Coordinator Carol DeVelice Director of Volunteers & Programs Kiersten Atkinson Outreach Coordinator Lisa McNair Volunteer Coordinator Stacey Roudebush Program Coordinator Tripp Windham Technology Administrator Vicki Shay Administrative Volunteers Barbara Young Carol Speed

Your gifts bring comfort to the most vulnerable people in our community.

A letter of appreciation to our donors and volunteers by Cathy McMillan, Life Enrichment Coordinator for Kirkwood by the River The visits from Hand in Paw to Kirkwood always have a positive impact on our residents. The joy that is brought into their day is indescribable. When the dogs come, the smiles that come to the Residents’ faces are big enough to light up the entire room! This is a blessing to each of us that work here because we love to see our Residents’ lives enriched in any way possible.

One gentleman here LOVED the dogs so much that he was always sitting in our living room each month on HIP day waiting eagerly for the dogs to arrive. Even as his health began to decline, he would come to see the HIP dogs!

Then, when he no longer had the strength to venture far from his apartment, some of the HIP teams would go to his apartment so he could still enjoy the furry love and feel the joy. And it was obvious that these short visits lifted his spirits - warmed his heart – and made his day!

One Resident seems to have a love affair with dogs! Going through various ups and downs in life, she had not been out of her apartment for a while and was very isolated. However, when told that the HIP dogs where on campus, she jumped up, got dressed and was ready in less than three minutes! She practically ran down the hallway to see the dogs.

One day a Resident had one of the HIP dogs cradled in her lap, enjoying stroking and loving on the bundle of fur.

She announced that she loved this dog and she was keeping it! We will never know all the memories that were going through her mind that day, but she had such a look of perfect love and peace and contentment. Unfortunately, this sweet Resident passed away late that very evening. Thankfully, her husband, who also lives here, witnessed these very special moments that his wife had experienced that day, knowing that she was so gently and lovingly touched with such joy her last day here on earth. What a blessing!

As you can tell from these few real-life events, our partnership with Hand in Paw is extremely valuable and enriching to the lives of our Residents. We often never know the impact that we make in someone else’s life, but HIP, YOU make an unbelievable difference here.

Thank you so much and blessings to each and every one of you!

Hand in Paw 617 38th Street South | Bham Al, 35222 (205) 322-5144

@HandInPawAL