On Saturday, April 20, 2013, 400 runners took off at the starting line at the Chris Sullivan Memorial 5k. The proceeds of the 5k benefit NEADS and the UMass Lowell Pershing Fund for Veterans. The run took place at the beautiful Tsongas auditorium, and was a huge success! Our special thanks to the Sullivan family and the organizers of the event.
Tiffany, with Rowan in his graduation cap (photo by Michael Stone)
What an incredible day we had this past Sunday, April 7, 2013! Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School rolled out the red carpet for NEADS and all our graduates and did an INCREDIBLE job hosting our Spring 2013 graduation ceremony. The facilities were beautiful, the auditorium was perfect, and the staff and students of Monty Tech could not have been more helpful. In particular, 1st Sgt Paul Jornet and his JR ROTC cadets made every person in attendance feel welcome. A huge thank you to Principal Nicholas DeSimone for graciously hosting NEADS at his school. Thank you to the Audio/Visual dept for going above and beyond to make sure that the ceremony went off without a hitch; Autobody/Collision Repair for the incredible work they have done on our donated Subaru; the Culinary Arts dept for preparing food and cake for graduation day; Graphic Communications for their ongoing support of our communications efforts; and Industrial Technology for building the “kitchen” pictured below especially for our on-stage demo!
We are honored and awed by the generosity of the staff and students of Monty Tech and are so grateful for this growing partnership! Photos by Michael Stone
Thank you, also, to the wonderful group of staff and volunteers who made graduation day possible.
As those of us in the Northeast suffer through a frigid cold snap, I thought it might be fun to be reminded of what there is to look forward to in the Summer! Some of our dedicated puppy raisers threw a birthday party this past August for their assistance dog in training Crew, and used the opportunity to fundraise for NEADS! Please enjoy the pictures below, and a full account of the party by Crew’s puppy raiser Amanda Shannon:
A Special Boy turns One! A Pawty for Crew!
August 11th, 2012 was a day of celebration. Exactly a year prior, handsome Crew was born into this world to a pair of equally stunning parents. About 8 weeks later he found his way to NEADS to be trained by an inmate at the ACI in Cranston, RI to hopefully some day become a Service Dog. We had the pleasure of being his weekend puppy raisers and since we have such wonderful family and friends that love Crew too, we decided to celebrate his special day by having a bash! Since Crew has everything he could want here at our home we decided that the party should not only celebrate Crew’s birth but also be a mini-fundraiser to buy items for the pups at our local prison, JJ Moran.
About 30 friends of NEADS came to celebrate Crew and support NEADS.Ā They braved the threat of a downpour (we had a tornado alert the night before) and made their way to our home where we had promised a fun time! A beautiful welcome sign adorned the front door (made by my talented friend, Cristina) so people new that they were in the right place for the fun! Dog quotes filled our walls (by our friends Natalie & Dave), a poster of Crew’s first year hung for everyone to see his amazing growth in such a short time, a slideshow of more photos was on the computer.Ā We had our donation bin available for people when they arrived and anyone who donated received a raffle ticket for each dollar they donated (there was a basket of goodies for the person that won) and two guessing games – how many dog treats are in the jar/how many human treats are in the jar (so many good guesses!!)
Outside was a Scooby Doo PiƱata filled with snacks donated by Jack’s Snacks, a dog bakery based out of Cranston RI, where the pups could “tug” on the string and whoever tugged the “right” string would open the bottom to let the goodies out. We had bobbing for Planet Dog Orbees, a wading pool, games for the humans and a few other games for both human and canines together. We also had a “paint a paw” area where all of the dogs that attended could paint by using their paws.Ā We think it came out cute, what do you think?
Of course no pawty is complete without a birthday cake and we didn’t disappoint! Thanks again to Jack’s Snacks, we had a beautiful cake especially for the dogs and then not to leave the humans out, paw cupcakes for them. For the doggie bags to take home we included a Natural Balance log, which was a generous donation from Natural Balance, as well as a few other fun things for humans and canines alike, and for the pups that attended they received a personalized peanut butter bone shaped treat from Jack’s Snacks. Cute!
Altogether we raised $291 which includes donations from friends that weren’t able to make it to celebrate his day. These funds were spent on yard toys, individual toys and treats for the inmates to use to train the pups in their care. It was tons of fun!
REMEMBER ā HONOR ā TEACH
This past weekend several NEADS Weekend Puppy Raisers traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths in specially designated areas, honoring our nation’s veterans.Ā The fresh evergreens are a symbol used for centuries to recognize honor, and a living tribute renewed annually.Ā This effort was begun by Wreaths Across America and their many supporters. We think it is especially important at this time of year to recognize and acknowledge the generosity of so many men and women who, over the years, have volunteered and sacrificed on behalf of our country and our veterans.Ā Thank you.
On December 18, NEADS staffers, along with NEADS dogs Currahee and Rainbow, attended the Massachusetts Gold Star Families Tree Dedication Ceremony at the Boston State House. The tree honors local service men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. NEADS was honored to attend.
On October 13, BAE Systems/Acton OSS hosted a group bike ride to benefit NEADS Canines for Combat Veterans program. They did a fantastic job and we were so honored that they chose us to be the recipients of their efforts. We look forward to partnering with them again next year!
For the second year in a row, NEADS has partnered with Indian Ranch to bring our message and mission to concert-goers. NEADS is attending concerts all summer long and making new friends — like Wynonna Judd! See the pictures below.
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We sincerely thank and appreciate each and every one of the NEADS volunteers who came out and shared their passion for NEADS with the Indian Ranch crowds. We couldn’t do it without you!
Despite the pouring rain, we had a wonderful turnout for the first annual Walk for NEADS. THANK YOU to the many participants who walked, wheeled, volunteered, and worked to make our June 2 walk a success!
We are so excited to announce that NEADS/Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans isĀ one of five finalists in the running to win a $100,000 technology makeover from Toshiba… but we need your help! And it’s so EASY!
You can vote once a day EVERY SINGLE DAY between now and March 9, 2012! Please share this exciting news with your friends, family, and Facebook followers and let them now how they can help. We can make this happen together!
Thank you so much for your help, don’t forget to vote every day, and keep your fingers crossed!
Wachusett Animal Hospital and Pet Retreat hosted a wonderful photos-with-Santa event, with proceeds going to NEADS! Check out the adorable photos below of the dogs that got to meet Santa! A HUGE thank you to Wachusett Animal Hospital, their staff and the NEADS volunteers who made this such a successful and fun event!
