Getting the Word Out

I'm working on putting together a booth to promote animal therapy at our local festival, Mineral Springs Days. I found a cheap gazebo at Menards on sale, and hope I can make it stand up on the sidewalk spot I've been assigned. My animal partners will need shade if they are to help me that day. Animal therapy, at least as most of us do it, is completely volunteer. Since we have no budget, we can't always get the most elaborate equipment. All we can do is operate as frugally as possible, buying on sale, and take a tax deduction for volunteer expenses. As long as the facilities we serve are nonprofit, we can declare it.

We never break even -- the cost of printer cartridges alone, for R.E.A.D.(R) program materials and business cards, are enough to make you weep -- but we aren't in it for the money. We do it to serve those who need the comfort and inspiration a therapy animal visit can offer, and for love of our fellow man. If we can make this journey through life -- and sometimes the leaving of it -- a little easier for some, we are fulfilled as human beings. We have the joy of working with our best friends, our animal companions, and the satisfaction of knowing we are doing good in the world. Those of us who are Christians believe we serve our God in this way, and feel blessed to be able to help His people.

I have written a short children's story about the R.E.A.D. program, called Ben and the Reading Dog, that I am attempting to put in some form to self publish on my computer. I copyrighted it this spring, and hope to sell a few inexpensive copies to help recoup some of my costs for the booth. I will also have a free drawing for a couple of services -- reading animal sessions for kids, and a therapy animal visit to a home or care facility -- to help raise awareness of therapy animal work. I hope many people stop by and visit, and perhaps become interested in training themselves and their pets in therapy also. If I show local folks how it works and create some enthusiasm via word of mouth, perhaps I can help create a few new therapy teams in our area. There truly is a need for it.