Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Southeastern Guide Dogs is in Sarasota too!

Typically this column talks about the goings on at Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Palmetto Campus. But this week, we wanted to turn the focus south to our Sarasota location.

September 2010 saw the expansion of Southeastern Guide Dogs into a new area: Sarasota.  Southeastern took over the building formerly inhabited by Scoop Management, where, unfortunately a number of locals were the victims of Art Nadal’s nefarious business practices.  And really, what better way to change the karma in a building than making it the home base of a non-profit? Southeastern Guide Dogs Sarasota Training Center and Dog Boutique now serves as a place where the general public can come and learn about guide dogs and the amazing work they do.  A new program is launching April 10th that will allow participants to “Shadow a Guide Dog Trainer.”  This fun, informative weekly workshop will explain the methods used to train guide dogs and …

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Local Volunteers Earn Presidential Volunteer Service Awards

Seven local volunteers were recognized by President Barack Obama and ShelterBox USA with Presidential Volunteer Service Awards for helping survivors of disasters around the world.

Riverview Basketball Volunteers At Habitat Sarasota Home

The Riverview High School Rams traded dribbling basketball to dabbling paint for a good cause Saturday afternoon.

The Riverview High School Rams basketball team gave a new meaning to "playing in the paint" Saturday morning when they helped paint a Habitat For Humanity Sarasota home. While it was fun for players, it wasn't necessarily playing though, as the teenagers spent hours applying coat after coat on walls, trims and molding at 4227 Larkin St. "I think building a house would have been really cool, not gonna lie, but I'm cool with the painting aspect of it," said Lex Sayre, an 11th grader and member of the Rams. "Keep it simple." The team volunteered in exchange for a team sponsorship from the Havener Financial Group of Janney Montgomery Scott, which it's equally as thankful for. "I mentioned to them that we really, really wanted to do a community…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

First Days of Guide Dog Class

This week we’ll take a look at what new guide dog trainees (aka the Freshmen Class) face in their first few weeks on campus.

There are three little letters that will bring even the strongest and most seasoned Puppy Raiser to tears…IFT. IFT stands for In-For-Training and is the time when volunteer Puppy Raisers bring their charges back on campus so they can start their formal harness training.  After caring for, loving and training these dogs for the past year to 16 months, the Puppy Raisers now must hand them over to Southeastern Guide Dogs so they can be molded into the confident guides they’re destined to be. Like dropping a kid off for their first year away at college, the Puppy Raisers watch as their pup is walked away by one of the trainers to be taken back to their kennel during Guide Dog U Freshman Orientation (the day-long program Southeastern holds to …

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Back To School: PALS Volunteers Needed

PALS Partners in Education volunteer program is looking for new people to help mentor and tutor Sarasota students this year.

Volunteers are an integral part of helping students and schools succeed, and it's no different in Sarasota. More than 10,000 students, parents, community members and business leaders participate in the district’s PALS Partners in Education volunteer program. Volunteers, who act as reading tutors and mentors to students and help schools in many other ways, provide about 264,000 hours of service each year, with an estimated value of $5.7 million. Anyone interested in learning more about volunteering in the Sarasota County Schools can call the PALS office at 941-927-9000, extension 31500.

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VIDEO: Day Of Hope Provides Fresh Start To School Year

Nonprofit HopeKids Community organizes an annual event called Day of Hope that provides homeless students and students in need with free school supplies.

In just one week, Sarasota schools will swing open their doors to students to start a new year. One organization is making sure homeless students and students in need will have a great start to the school year.  Nonprofit HopeKids Community organizes an annual event called Day of Hope that provides homeless students and students in need with free school supplies. At Church of the Palms on Saturday, it  was the final of three events this year that featured free shoes, free clothes, free bookbags, free dental and medical exams and so much more. For organizer and HopeKids founder Pam Hawn, it's about giving parents peace of mind at the start of the school year. On any given night, about 900 kids are homeless in Sarasota County, according to …

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Brenda Smoak

8:44 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Great story and video!   more ›

Academy Gives Kindergartners Head Start At Alta Vista

Eaglet Academy prepares incoming kindergarten students for school at Alta Vista Elementary.

A free program at Alta Vista Elementary School is giving 60 children a head start on kindergarten. Approximately 60 children who will enter kindergarten at Alta Vista Elementary School Aug. 20 are spreading their wings this summer at the Eaglet Academy, a free early-start program at the school. The academy, which is held four days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., began July 9 and runs through Thursday. The school system calls the Eaglet Academy an innovative academic and enrichment program focusing on high-quality, developmentally appropriate learning experiences. Free bus transportation and breakfast and lunch are provided for all students. In collaboration with the Sarasota YMCA, free enrichment and recreational activities also are …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Even Guide Dogs Get Time to Relax and Play!

All work and no play makes anyone grumpy -- human or canine. Southeastern Guide Dogs has recently instituted a program to make sure all of the dogs in training get playtime too.

There’s no question about it, guide dogs work hard. They are responsible for someone’s safety and that’s a lot of responsibility for four paws. Guide dog training is also difficult, learning everything they will need to be the best guide they can be. Staffers in the kennels set about to find ways to take the stress out of kennel life and training for the dogs as they work their way through the program.  Southeastern’s new Kennel Enrichment program started small and now is building as the results seen are remarkable. So you may be asking, “Just what is Kennel Enrichment?”  Well, Canine Care Technicians and volunteers take the dogs one-by-one and spend quality time with them doing a variety of activities. The dogs may get a massage in a nice…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Good ‘Ole Southern Hospitality

Southeastern Guide Dogs provides superb guide dogs along with a dose of southern hospitality

Blind Americans have twelve options when it comes to getting a guide dog, so what is it about Southeastern Guide Dogs that sets us apart from the other guide dog schools?  Well, we strive to make the students’ experience more like visiting a good friend (who happens to have a private chef) than a campus experience. Southeastern Guide Dogs began because there was a need for dogs that were bred and raised in the South and could withstand the sometimes brutal heat.  Along with the hardiness of the dogs comes a strong sense of southern hospitality. We pride ourselves on always putting our students’ comfort first and it is apparent by the number of returning students, that they appreciate the effort. Class sizes have always been small, with …

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Jennifer Bement

2:54 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012

Toni, I'd love to have you come to campus for lunch! We'll have to plan it for a day when Chef Rob is serving one of his soups...they are amazing!   more ›

Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

We Want You! To Volunteer

Looking for something fun to do over the summer break? How about volunteering at Southeastern Guide Dogs?

It takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 368 people to breed, whelp, raise and train a guide dog for Southeastern Guide Dogs. Wonder how they do it?  Well, it is all thanks to the support of a group of very loyal volunteers.  Puppy Raisers give of themselves tirelessly for more than a year so that these wonderful dogs may one day be provided to a visually impaired individual all at no charge. But, those aren’t the only volunteers who play an integral part in Southeastern’s mission. Here is a snapshot of the different volunteer opportunities available at Southeastern Guide Dogs. Breeder Host Homes How would you like to give of yourself simply by just loving and caring for a dog?  In order to produce the traits required for successful guide…

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