Shipping: 12 Step Program & Southeastern Guide Dogs

I awoke this morning at 8:00 AM and checked my email for Friday photos.  Sure enough there was an email from Jeff Druek:  "I hope you had a pleasant Holiday. You will not find attached this week’s photos of your boat under construction. We have a 12 step program for weaning you off the weekly construction photos.  This is step one!  LOL."

I immediately wrote back asking for the other 11 steps.  Jeff wrote that tracking the freighter's progress is the 12 Step Program but the BBC Africa is out of range.  Oh well, no photos and no current update. 

That said, the freighter's position on December 25 was Latitude 25.47618, Longitude 121.5771.  She was traveling at 9 knots on a heading of 43 degrees.

BBC Africa

So I asked Kodi what I should write about.  Kodi, in her official role as a Southeastern Ambassador Dog, suggested that I share our fund raising effort with our readers.  I thought it was a good suggestion.



Kodi on the day she became an Ambassador Dog (Jan 2012)
Standing: Andy Kramer, Director of Development, Titus Herman CEO
Seated: Diana, Lester and Myrna (my sister)
Foreground: Ambassador Kodi

Last year thanks to the support of our friends, Diana, Kodi and I raised over $6,500 for Southeastern Guide Dogs.  We’re hoping to raise at least that much for their 2014 Sarasota Walkathon.

Flash: We are currently at $6,550 including posted contributions and commitments.

Southeastern provides guide dogs that literally change the lives of visually impaired individuals along with veterans with disabilities.  

It takes two years and $60,000 to raise a guide dog.  The process starts with breeding healthy dogs with great temperaments.  It continues with volunteer puppy raisers who love and train the dogs for the first 16 months of their lives.  This is followed by six months of intensive harness training at Southeastern’s Palmetto campus that transforms these spectacular dogs into guide dogs.  The process concludes with 26 days of training with the dog’s recipient.  The dogs are provided to the recipients at no charge.

Charity Navigator gives Southeastern their highest 4 STAR rating.  The bottom line is that 91% of the funds donated go to raising and training dogs. The school receives no government support.

If you want to help change someone’s life and want to make a donation where you know that your money is going to make a real difference, then we urge you to join Team Kodi by clicking on the link below.

 
http://www.guidedogswalkathon.org/team-kodi

Thanks for your support.

Les, Diana and Kodi (aka the Furry Kid)

PS. Your donation is 100% tax deductible.


Kodi in her Southeastern Ambassador Dog cape

Happy New Year