Story Dogs Newsletter # 25 Term 4 2017 Record Number of Reading Sessions over 46,460 in 2017! Our amazing volunteers have delivered approximately 46,460 reading sessions in 2017. Helping over 1500 children learn to read. With your support we are now reaching even more children. 2017 started with 174 Volunteer Dog Teams helping 880 children every week in February. This then grew to 230 Dog Teams helping 1145 children in June. By the end of the year Story Dogs has 300 Dog Teams helping 1500 children every week. Stumpy and student at Our Lady of Mt Carmel school - Vic
Farewell to Coordinators It is with sadness and also best wishes that Story Dogs bids farewell to some of our wonderful Coordinators. These amazing women have brought an energy and dedication to Story Dogs that will be missed. However, life goes on and we are very lucky to have some existing volunteers who are stepping up into Coordinator roles. Good luck to you all! Serena and her dog Zola - Coordinator for the Tweed North Coast NSW area and a Director on the Story Dogs Board. Serena has also resigned from her Director role. Serena has been with Story Dogs since 2010. Louise and her dog Sadie - Coordinator for the Eastern Melbourne metropolitan area. Louise has been with Story Dogs since 2015. Clare and her dog Aeryn - Coordinator for the Melbourne Eastern Ranges area. Clare has been with Story Dogs since 2016. Wendy and her dog Mr Biggles - Coordinator for the Northern Gold Coast QLD area. Wendy has been with Story Dogs since 2016.
Lions Convention Lismore *************************************Exciting News******************************************** Lions Q1 District has recommended Story Dogs as a National 3 year project! The Annual Lions District Q1 Convention was held in Lismore in October. This Lions district covers one of the main regions of the Story Dogs program, our birth place of Murwillumbah, south to Lismore and north to Brisbane. Story Dogs is supported by many Lions Clubs in this district as well as many Lions Clubs throughout Australia. Over the last five years we have been working with Ann Reed from the Redland Bay - Victoria Point Lions Club in Queensland. She is an ex teacher and a dog lover so is 100% behind Story Dogs. Over this time Ann has risen from Vice Secretary of the Redland Bay - Victoria Point Lions Club, to now Q1 District Governor (head of the District). Ann is one of our biggest supporters as is evident by the motion being moved by the Redland Bay - Victoria Point Lions Club and accepted at the convention that District Q1 recommends to the MD (Multi District (National)) 201 Convention that it adopts Lions Australia Story Dogs as a Category B Project for the next three years until 2021, for the purpose of providing literacy opportunities for children in a school environment. The Lions Multi District Convention is happening in Townsville in May of 2018. After May, Story Dogs will know if we have been successful in receiving the support nationally from Lions of Australia, fingers crossed! Lions members attending the convention were blown away by our wonderful Dog Teams who attended, we made a big impact! Day One Crew Janine with Ann Reed the Director General of the Lions Q1 District and Mack the Story Dog. Day Two Crew Lexie the Story Dog melted many hearts
Volunteering Services Australia and Story Dogs Story Dogs is proud to announce a partnership with Volunteering Services Australia (VSA). Story Dogs and VSA (formerly known as Gold Coast Volunteering) have been working together for many years, with VSA helping to get Story Dogs off the ground. VSA have assisted Story Dogs by sourcing appropriate volunteers, the development of policy and HR systems and more recently with conference facilitation and fundraising. Our organisations are both rapidly growing and hope to continue onwards together. VSA is now operating in four Queensland locations; Gold Coast, Ipswich, Jimboomba and Springfield Lakes, and also two Tasmanian locations; Newnham and Burnie. VSA will become the first point of call for Story Dogs potential new volunteers. This will ensure that all enquiries will be handled in a professional, timely manner. This becomes ever more important as the number of enquiries for the Story Dogs program continues to increase exponentially. Story Dogs looks forward to a productive, positive, partnership. Check out the Volunteering Services Australia web site https://www.vsaustralia.org.au/about/ picture above: Left to Right - Di Fowler (VSA Membership Services & Office Supervisor), Penelope Hodge (VSA Manager), Gavin Sigley (SD Chairman of the Board), Richard Patterson (VSA CEO), Janine Sigley (SD Managing Director/Cofounder). Where: at the VSA Volunteering Gala Dinner, Gold Coast.
Book Review Crosby s Awesome Discovery by Jan Lindsay The important role of Story Dogs is reminding children that they are valuable just for who they are. This book, by Story Dogs volunteer Jan Lindsay, captures this message in a heartwarming discovery tale. The narrative is told from the perspective of her Story Dog Golden Retriever Crosby, as he explains all the awesome traits of his brother and sister dogs. They are all awesome! But why do people say Crosby is awesome too when he is not nearly as cool? Because he is a Story Dog! Fellow Story Dogs volunteers will enjoy the journey of this story as it is a beautiful depiction of the important role Story Dogs volunteers play in helping the confidence of struggling readers. Children will enjoy the bright engaging dialogue and fun home - captured pictures. Jan s warmth in describing the children Crosby helps will be particularly inspiring. The book is outrageously orange, what else could it be for Story Dogs? A very fun read! Review by Sarah Sigley- a long time supporter of Story Dogs
Keeping the Pages Turning Funding Support Without grants and donations the Story Dogs program would stop; books would not be opened, pages not turned. A HUGE THANKS to all those philanthropic funds and organisations who see Story Dogs as a good investment into the lives and futures of our children. They keep the pages turning! Since our last newsletter they are: Collier Charitable Fund ITV Tweed Community Initiative Fund Northern Rivers Community Fund RACT Community Fund Maroochy RSL
Grief and Loss Support for Story Dogs Volunteers Story Dogs understands how much a dog means to us and when they leave it can be incredibly hard. As such we have been very fortunate to now have the services of the Rev Barbara Allen. Rev Barbara Allen, a Uniting Church minister, was the first chaplain at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne, where she supported 1500 clients a year through the death or terminal illnesses of their pets/companion animals. Barbara is offering her time and skills to support those who are grieving in the Story Dogs community. This may be due to the passing of their Story Dog, or it may be grief due to other circumstances, which may necessitate having to withdraw from the Story Dogs program, such as illness (of either the Story Dog, or of the volunteer/owner), decreasing physical capabilities, such as hearing loss or blindness of the dog, or for other reasons. We understand that if a volunteer has to withdraw from the program due to grief, this grief may be accompanied by an overwhelming sense of loss of purpose which volunteering had provided in their lives, and the risk of decreased social contact with other volunteers, the school and the children. Story Dogs is very grateful for Barbaras expertise and support. How do I get support for my grief? Please contact your Coordinator who will organise for Barbara to contact you.
Welcome and thanks to all of our new Dog Sponsors Sponsorship is how we make it all work and can keep helping more children learn to read. New sponsors since last newsletter up to the end of Nov 2017 THANK
A HUGE thank you to all those Dog sponsors who have renewed. This keeps the wheels turning and ensures we can continue to expand and help even more children learn to read the FUN way. New sponsors since last newsletter up to the end of Nov 2017
Christmas Story Dogs Style