Friday, May 1, 2015

My Friend Sheena's Service Dog

For those of you that saw my post about the fundraiser for my friend Sheena's service dog, and especially to those that donated, I am so happy to announce Sheena raised the required funds and will be getting her new service dog later this month. She is thrilled, of course, and I am really excited for her. Thanks to all who donated and shared her story.

4 comments:

  1. That is wonderful news for Sheena! It's so relieving knowing that she can get what she needs. I've never commented on any posts before, but this one struck a chord for me. Mainly because I'm trying to get a service dog for myself to help with my ASD, and the prices and what not is eating up more spoons than I ever thought I had.

    I've also read your posts from when you were fundraising to cover the cost of Isaac (cute photo of him swimming with the geese, by the way!) and I was wondering how did you ask the churches for donations? I am getting rather desperate and I don't really know how to go about asking my local churches for help. --CK

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    1. CK, I send letters addressed to the pastor, explaining a little bit about why I needed a service dog and some of the things he would be trained to do to help me, then explained why service dogs are expensive (because it takes about 18 months of intensive training to train one) and that I have a very limited income since I cannot work due to my disability. I asked if they might be able to donate something to assist with the cost. I must have written to over 50 churches and I think six ended up donating. Sheena actually went to visit the pastors of several churches in her area and she had much better success with that. I think she visited six churches and five of the pastors agreed to donate something. So if you are able to do that, it works better than writing. But writing can be effective, too.

      It can be really hard to raise the money. Most programs assist with fundraising and they should be able to give you ideas. I know a couple things Sheena did included getting a local Chick-fil-A restaurant to hold a fundraising night, in which she got a portion of their profits, and an online auction, which was set up on facebook. Oh, and a local girl scout troop (or brownies? or something) help a rummage sale and donated the money.

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    2. Thanks! I wrote some emails to a few pastors today, but I think I will visit them in person when I have time. Or actually, I may just call them. That way they know I'm a real person and not just a scammer. I didn't think about asking local businesses to help. My choir has done that with success in the past, and I think I will ask the restaurant they typically use for help. Thank you for the ideas!
      --CK

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    3. I contacted some local businesses asking for donations. I didn't get any donations from any of those but one of the businesses I contacted was a vet and they called me to offer me a significant discount on medical care for the life of my service dog, so that has been a big help. I didn't try asking any restaurants for help, though. That would probably be a good idea. Like I said, Sheena had a good response from Chick-fil-A.

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