Posted by TeamCharlie on July 30, 2008 under Kids are Heroes | 
I am so excited to see how things are coming together with Kids are Heroes. The website is designed to inspire children to do things in their community. It is working. A young neighbor’s mom came to me and said she and her eight-year-old son John explored the site. John saw what other kids were doing and got the urge to become involved. Although he is an animal lover he decided that there are already a lot of people helping animals. He wanted to help families with premature babies as he was one himself. He and his parents organized an aluminum can drive – the proceeds will be devoted to creating gift baskets for families who give birth to “preemies” at two local hospitals. They plan to solicit Boyds Bears for some stuffed animals. They have found a lady that is making little quilts for them. A grandmother of one of the other heroes has knitted little caps for them, as well as collected cans to add to their stash. It’s almost as if the Kids are Heroes website is turning into a community of its own, banding together to help all the kids achieve their goals.
John is sure to be recognized as one of Lily’s Heroes. His story is even being picked up by the Frederick News-Post in hopes that others can join in to help. (When it appears I will update this story to provide the link.) He will be featured at Kids are Heroes Day at the FSK Mall on September 6th (10A-4P), along with many other kids from the website. Kids that are present at the mall can chip in by decorating “Welcome” cards that will be inserted into the gift baskets.
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 25, 2008 under Kids are Heroes, Wags for Hope |
On Wednesday, the day after Dusty’s premiere at Citizen’s, the Frederick News Post’s video division (FNP TV) came out to Citizen’s to do a story on Wags for Hope. (This will be aired three times daily for a week starting August 5 on a show called “Frederick 360″. It will also be available online at that time, just go to www.fredericknewspost.com and find the link to FNP TV.) We brought four animal teams, trying to mix up the sizes and breeds a bit. Team Charle (Bernese Mountain Dog), Team Dusty (Pembroke Welsh Corgi), Team Sam (Maltese) and Team Napoleon (English Mastiff) had the honors. Normally we visit one on one inside their rooms, but since we were all there they had us go to the sitting area between the C & D wings. All four dogs went from person to person having a nice visit. These were almost artificial visits since they were somewhat staged, but the residents enjoyed them anyway. All of a sudden something incredible happened. The whole time there had been this one gentleman sitting on the couch by himself and he was very quiet. He looked apathetic about what was going on as if he would rather have his privacy so he seemed to get skipped over. Just then Courtney (Dusty’s 10 year old handler) asked him if he would like to pet Dusty. She lifted Dusty up on the couch next to this man and as Dusty leaned on the man’s lap, he began to pet him. Few words were exchanged, but Dusty did not leave and the man did not stop petting him. I looked up at Courtney’s mom and noticed that she was wiping away tears of pride and compassion. I am so glad they got that on film – I hope that Dusty steals the show because he sure did at the taping.
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 23, 2008 under Kids are Heroes, Wags for Hope |
Last night I shadowed two new animal teams at Citizen’s Care & Rehab. Having visited there now for four years, I sometimes get moments where I question my own commitment, and wonder if the residents start to take us for granted. It has also been a bit sad for me personally lately, since many of my “regulars” have recently passed away. Make no mistake about it, this is part of the territory. I was speaking to a woman yesterday who is anxious to start this activity. She had recently been in a nursing home herself and had felt the loneliness that many of the residents suffer. She wanted to get her dog started, but wasn’t sure if the dog would be a good fit for the visitations. She said that she would just do nothing if the dog didn’t work out. I suggested to her that she could do a world of good just visting alone. Her response was that she didn’t want to get close to the residents and then have to suffer their passing. My answer to that is that just because you bring in your pet doesn’t mean that you will not establish relationships with the residents. The alternative is to not visit and not suffer the loss of friends. Doesn’t that sound a bit selfish? I know that this sort of thing cannot be handled by everyone, but just think of the pleasure you give a person as you are helping to escort them from this life. Is it better that they all go this journey alone? I think not.
Anyway, back to Napoleon and Dusty…
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Posted by TeamCharlie on July 22, 2008 under Kids are Heroes |
One day in the spring time of this year I was looking for something to do with MaryMargaret, as my wife Michelle was off playing tennis. I heard about a community expo in Mt Airy so I thought I would check it out. To be honest, it didn’t offer that much entertainment for us, so we were only there for about an hour if that. But on the way out we approached a table we hadn’t seen yet. A bright young girl asked MaryMargaret if she would like a lollipop. She can’t say “no” to that type of thing, so I indulged her. This girl, who I would later find out is named Amy, asked me very politely if she could tell me her story. I was all ears. As it turned out, she and her two siblings (Shannon who is 10 and Todd who is 14) were about to get their heads shaved. A “St Baldrick’s” (which is a play on words mixing “bald” into St Patrick’s) event was scheduled for the next month in Westminster. This is a group that focuses specifically on child cancer research. The head shaving events are performed to show solidarity to the children losing their hair for medical reasons, as well as to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s group. As it turned out, their mom was the one organizing the event. That family has a special affinity towards the group since one of their other siblings is a 20 year cancer survivor. I was very moved to hear the story about Amy and her family. Amy is 17 and was about to lose 20 some inches of her hair! Shannon who is very close to MaryMargaret’s age was doing it as well. I felt that these were perfect candidates for the “Kids are Heroes” website so I asked if they would participate which they did indeed. As it turns out they raised over $19,000.00 for cancer research at that one event. That is not all the family does either. In Beth’s (the matriarch of the family) words, ” …my kids presented the Veggie Tales’ skit, “Dave and The Giant Pickle” to over 500 children with cancer in 44 children’s hospitals and 35 Ronald McDonald Houses in major cities across the country in 1999 & 2001 when we biked our childhood cancer awareness tour we called, “One Voice Across America“. Shannon was 4 when she played “Dave”, a little asparagus guy (representing a child) going up against the Goliath beast (cancer), because “Little guys can do big things, too!”. ”
My point here is it is amazing to me the people we are meeting as a result of MaryMargaret’s website. Shannon and MaryMargaret are now friends who share play dates and sleepovers as most kids do. What’s a bit unusual is that they will also share Kids are Heroes Day on September 6th, and a warm giving heart.
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 17, 2008 under Kids are Heroes |
The backlash from the original article in the Frederick News Post was amazing and is still ongoing. On Saturday, September 6th the Francis Scott Key Mall will be sponsoring a “Kids are Heroes” day. So far 11 local “heroes” have signed up to participate. They will all have tables set up where they will be able to spread the word about their causes as well as collect donations for them. At 1PM we will have a ceremony up on stage where each hero will be recognized with a “Kids are Heroes” certificate. (We are currently seeking a celebrity emcee so feel free to suggest someone.) There will be lots of literature about all the causes as well as crafts and other fun things for all kids to participate in. I hope everyone can come and cheer on all the heroes.
In addition to the “Kids are Heroes” day, the FSK mall will also donate the fountain coins each month (excluding November and December) to a hero which will be then donated to their favorite non-profit organization. The mall will start things off in the month of September, where MaryMargaret will be featured and her cause will be the Frederick County Animal Shelter. So if you pass that fountain in the FSK mall and you see a poster with one of our heroes on it, kindly throw in a few extra coins.
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 14, 2008 under Kids are Heroes |
If you have been following in my daughter MaryMargaret’s footsteps lately, you’ll know that she and her two friends Rianna and Taylor recently held a lemonade stand in front of Flights of Fancy, which is a toy store in downtown Frederick. The idea, triggered in part by her website, was to sell enough lemonade to buy Webkinz for the kids at Camp Friendship, which is sponspored by the Carol Jean Cancer Foundation. Camp Friendship is a camp in Laytonsville, MD where children aged 7-17 that have been recently diagnosed/treated for cancer can come for a week of camp in a somewhat “normal” environment. At each camp their maximun enrollment is 80 children. On Saturday, June 14th, MaryMargaret, Rianna and Taylor worked in sweltering heat for six hours, sometimes yelling across the street, but always beckoning people to come over to their lemonade stand and buy a cup or two for $1.00 each. Their aggressiveness netted them $300.00 in just six hours, which was more than a shock to us since we said we would match whatever they made. The owner of Flights of Fancy was generous enough to sell the Webkinz to us at a discount, and due to all these stars lining up we were able to buy 80 Webkinz which would ensure each camper would get one. Read more of this article »
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 13, 2008 under Wags for Hope |
I have conducted the orientations for Wags for Hope since its inception. All in all I guess there have been at least a dozen or so. One would think that after having gone over roughly the same material that many times, I would be anxious to give up the task. Just the opposite is true. These orientations actually rejuvenate the energy I have for this organization. They are conducted roughly bimonthly at the Holly Hills Country Club in Ijamsville. (I have to give them their due props because they sponsor these events.) We created these seminars in mid 2006 and in every case I can say there have been over 10 people in attendance, and lately (for the last four orientations or so) there have been 20-30 participants. I am always amazed at this, as I figured that these would naturally get smaller as we progressed.
What gets me excited is the attitude of the audience. Many are all so eager to get started and have been waiting for an opportunity such as this. I am hearing that membership in some other service groups is on the decline for whatever reason, but ours seem to continue to thrive. I think the reason is that people get so much enjoyment out of including their pets in volunteer activity. It is another way to bond with and socialize them. Read more of this article »
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 11, 2008 under Wags for Hope |
Since Wags for Hope is conducting an orientation this weekend, I thought it appropriate to paint a picture of what it is like to volunteer with your pet. Any and all sizes of pets are popular – some like the smaller ones, others prefer the larger ones. Cats are extremely desirable because there are relatively so few that participate in therapy programs. My guess is that it is not necessarily their nature that prevents them, but their lack of interest in the ride over to the nursing home.
When I first took Charlie to a nursing home he was 4 months old, so he was not yet fully grown. He was a much smaller version of himself at the time, so he intimidated noone. The first time I volunteered with Charlie I almost didn’t go back. We started at dinner time which was a big mistake. As you could imagine, food is king in the nursing homes as it is a very much desired diversion from the day’s (lack of) activities. People did not seem to be interested in us, so I wondered if I was doing any good at all. The volunteer coordinator suggested I try again at a slightly later time. Two weeks later I did just that. We were invited into one particular room. Two sisters (I will call them Laura and Jane) had been staying in the same room for many years. They were both unable to move on their own. They were relatively young. Jane could only communicate by raising her eyebrows to indicate “yes” – a lack of eye movement meant “no”. I brought Charlie in due to their mom’s coaxing. I led him in closer to the bed and before I knew it his two paws were on the railing of Jane’s bed!! Charlie NEVER jumps up. But in this case he wanted to get a closer look. The look on Jane’s face remains forever emblazened in my thoughts. Her smile went from ear to ear and she laughed out loud. She LOVED it. It was that very moment that ensured I would continue this activity.
That night we got many smiles from people. I was so impressed that they were all so polite and gracious – thanking us for coming and hoping we would be back. As we got back to the car I put Charlie in the back seat, petted him on the head and said, “You’re a good boy, Charlie!” I would never have imagined that this activity would strengthen the deep bond that we already had between us, but it surely does.
Posted by TeamCharlie on July 10, 2008 under Wags for Hope |
Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to make a nursing home visit with Charlie and my family. This was different from our usual fare, since the nursing home, Regina Nursing Center, was three hours away in Norristown, PA. This is where my Aunt Mary is living now – she will be 98 years old in September. Ashamedly we haven’t seen her in over 20 years, for reasons I won’t go into here. She is the “last one standing” of my parents’ siblings and spouses. When we arrived, she was at lunch so some of the other residents got to meet Charlie. When we finally tracked her down I asked her, “Are you my Aunt Mary?” Her quick wit came back at me and said, “That depends… Who are you??” The nursing home was very nice and had no noticeable odors which I was thankful for my aunt’s sake. Her mind is all there – she is still as sweet, laid back and funny as I remember her. She is just a tad slower and a bit hard of hearing. Because of arthritis in her knees, she is confined to a wheelchair. Read more of this article »
Posted by TeamCharlie on under Kids are Heroes |
In February of 2008, I just happened to catch an interview on TV. It was Charlie Rose interviewing Sir Richard Branson. I’m not the type of person who gets star struck in the least. In fact, I believe that the only thing celebrities are better at than I am is becoming famous which is an attribute I do not covet. However, I was fascinated by the interview. I had no real opinion of Branson other than the fact that I knew he owned a large number of companies and was a successful businessman. The focus of the interview was not so much his successes but what he plans to do from here on. (The actual interview is online and can be seen in its entirety here. I believe this is an hour well spent for those who have the time.) He talks about his efforts in trying to help solve the global warming issue, and about cofounding “The Elders” with Peter Gabriel. The Elders are a group of highly respected elder statesmen led by Nelson Mandela who go from place to place on this planet to try and resolve conflicts. Branson also introduced me to the concept of “social entrepreneurship” which is very intriguing to me. The idea is that instead of throwing money at a problem it may be better in some instances to try and solve issues with entrepreneurial skills. This is the main focus behind one of Branson’s latest ventures, “Virgin Unite“. The bottom line is that I was inspired by this interview. We started Wags for Hope a couple of years ago and it is thriving nicely. But we can do more. I asked myself, “what entrepreneurial skills do I have that I can use to help others?” One answer was website design and development. At that same time I had just heard about some fantastic kids doing wonderful things in their communities. Also at that time my daughter MaryMargaret had asked me to build her a website… Read more of this article »
