> Service Dog Fundraisers
Service Dog Fundraisers
| The First Town Veterinary Science 4-H Club consists of 55 members ranging from age 7 to 18, which makes us one of the largest 4-H clubs in Connecticut. Based in Windsor, CT, our club's mission is: To provide an educational opportunity to children that will teach them how to better care for their animals and build a stronger human-animal bond with their pets. To teach citizenship, mold leaders, and demonstrate the career opportunities that the wonderful world of veterinary medicine has to offer. To give back to the local community through projects such as nursing home pet therapy, an annual rabies clinic and our 2006 Service Dog Project As our most significant community service project to date, our club is raising funds to cover the training of service dogs. These are dogs that we will adopt, sponsor, train and place with a disabled child or elderly person in need. In June 2005, we purchased our first dog an 11-month old Golden Retriever whom we named "Chance" to represent the chance that we hope to give a disabled person. Chance is a rescued dog found roaming the streets of Harlem. Chance was fostered by one of our club families from June 2005 through January 2006. During this time, Chance began the initial phase of training, which included weekly visits and training sessions by our club members. In January 2006, he graduated from this phase and now lives with a professional trainer where he is learning his specialized skills. The children's commitment to Chance has been heart-warming. Our club continues to work with Chance and monitor his progress as we begin our fundraising efforts. The estimated cost to train a service dog is $15,000. This includes veterinary care, training fees, food, etc. Our club goal is to raise the needed funds by organizing several fundraisers. Our main event will be a Dog Walk & Fair to be held on June 3, 2006 at Northwest Park in Windsor, CT. The day will begin with registration at 10:00 am, include a one-hour nature trail Dog Walk at 11:00 am and be followed by raffles, games, contests and other festivities throughout the afternoon until 4:00 pm. As part of the fund drive for this event, our 4-H club members will be canvassing the Windsor business community in late March and throughout April requesting sponsorship advertisements for our Trail Map Guide/Program Book and/or donated goods and services to be used for prizes and raffles. We will also be holding a Tag Sale on the Town Green on June 10th. Our club is partnering with the Windsor Civitans to host this fundraiser that will include Alex's Lemonade Stand and hopefully attract a crowd looking for some great deals. Proceeds earned by our club will be used to help finance Chance's training. The support of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce is vital to making these community service projects a success and your help will be much appreciated. Sincerely, Larry Pennington, DVM 4-H Club Leader (860) 688-2245 First Town Veterinary Science 4-H Club 46 Poquonock Avenue Windsor, CT 06095 www.FirstTown4H.org |