Story Dogs Newsletter # 22 Term Leaping into 2017!!

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1 Story Dogs Newsletter # 22 Term Leaping into 2017!! Story Dogs has grown by 37 new Dog Teams already in 2017! A big WELCOME to all our new volunteers and a hearty WELCOME BACK to all our existing volunteers. I hope you are ready for a huge year as Story Dogs continues to expand into new regions, consolidates existing regions and reaches out to even more supporting partners. Our first big goal this year will be to help over 1000 children each week find the love of reading and become lifelong readers. We are on track to meet this by June. Our volunteers are more than reading partners to some of the children we help. They become their mentors, friends and a steady guiding part of the children s lives. Our dogs lap up the attention lavishly heaped on to them but also give back many times over in tail wags, friendly licks, high fives and appreciative snores. Although Story Dogs has been a registered charity since December 2012 we can now use the Australian Not for Profit Commissions (ACNC) registered charity tick of approval. Look out for this on our web site and other promotional material. Bella the Bull Dog doing a high five

2 New Coordinators Our coordinators are the back bone of the organisation. Coordinators directly support our on ground Volunteer Dog Teams and Schools. And we love them! As the program grows to new areas and expands in existing areas new coordinators are required. Seven amazing, keen and passionate new coordinators have started since the end of A BIG welcome to our keen new coordinators. L-R Wendy and Biggles Gold Coast North QLD, Faye and Charlie Gold Coast South QLD, Sam and Keely Waroona WA L R Amanda and Donny Mandurah WA Lindy and Poppy Rockingham/ Kwinana WA L-R Clare and Aeryn Melbourne Eastern Ranges Susie and Lucy Mornington Peninsula VIC

3 Funding helping Story Dogs in 2017 Story Dogs has been fortunate to obtain Philanthropic funding for the following projects. Sidney Myer Fund funding 15 new Dog Teams in outer Melbourne suburbs Stand Like Stone Fund funding four new Dog Teams in Mount Gambier, SA Clubs NSW Twin Towns funding eight new Dog Teams in The Tweed Region, NSW Sensis makeover of our web site Tweed Shire Council, NSW to purchase over 200 quality children s books Maya the golden retriever weaving her magic with a student at Goonengerry Public School in NSW Congratulations to Paddy Our passionate, dedicated volunteers are also leaders in their communities. Paddy (Mary) MacKinnon was named a Diamond of Devonport on International Women s Day, for her commitment to serving the community. To celebrate International Women s Day, Devonport City Council is pleased to recognise the contributions and achievements of local women through its Diamonds of Devonport program along with a series of public workshops that aim to educate and empower women. Paddy and her dog Scout' help children at Nixon Street Primary, Devonport. Well done Paddy!!

4 Jumping and Bounding into a Jam Packed Year: what to look forward to Story Dogs Day is the 5 th May!! Milestone of helping over 1000 Children will be reached very soon! New regions coming on board during the year o Hervey Bay, QLD o Whyalla SA o Bendigo VIC o Sydney- NW, NSW o Redlands, QLD o And many more that we do not know about yet! Partnering with the Tasmanian State Library Partnering with the Melbourne Dog Lovers Show Stand at the National Lions Convention in Hobart Redesigned of the web site by Sensis Story Dogs in the News One of Stumpy s students from last year is in a school newsletter at the start of this year, for a Pupil of the Week Award for being a responsible reader. This; from a child who couldn t read, and didn t want to read, when they began the Story Dogs program with Stumpy. During March Story Dogs was invited to be part of a media campaign with Keep Australia Pet Friendly. A research paper has been released that shows that families with children are in fact the most likely group within the community to have a pet. More than being a simple playmate and confidante, research shows that pets can also aid childhood development, particularly the development of nurturing and social skills, and reduce the feelings of stress experienced by children. Pets have also been proven to increase the levels of exercise undertaken by families. To read more follow this link Being part of the Story Dogs program you would know that our pets can be such amazing therapy for troubled young children. The campaign was a huge success with many media stories including newspaper articles, radio interviews and television news items. Well done to all our Coordinators who organised their schools and volunteers to be part of the campaign. As a result we have had many more enquires from potential volunteers and many more people in Australia have now heard of Story Dogs. An End of an Era Story Dogs would like to give a huge THANK YOU to the Rotary Club of Palm Beach on the Gold Coast, Qld. This Club is unfortunately unable to continue operating and as a parting good deed has donated $5000 to Story Dogs!

5 Welcome and thanks to all of our new Dog Sponsors Dog Sponsorship is how we make it all work and can keep expanding. THANK New sponsors as at the end of March 2017

6 Book Review Pig the Pug author Aaron Blabey The cover says it all: - just one look at that funny face and you know that Pig the Pug is going to be a humorous book. Politically incorrect and the most disgusting dog ever, Pig is however, FUN! The story itself has depth in that it introduces notions of selfishness and greediness through Pig s inability to share things, whilst his best friend Trevor exemplifies all the traits of a true friend. Ultimately Pig gets his comeuppance when he falls out of a window and turns to his friend Trevor for friendship learning to play together and share toys. Well as the book says, at least while Pig is on the mend. Fun for all ages, the illustrations are hilarious; you can actually read and enjoy the story just by looking at the pictures. As a book for Story Dogs, this has it all rhyme, repetition of easily recognisable words for boosting reader confidence, with harder words here and there to offer a challenge. The type set is large, Adobe Caslon and the sentences are written in straight lines so the words, letters and progression are easy to see and recognise. Some words are enlarged or typed in bold to encourage the reader to emphasize certain words and use expression to bring the story to life. And with dogs as the central characters what more could you ask for? A great book. Reviewed by Jan Upton who volunteers with her dog Keira at Currumbin Valley State School QLD.