Nonprofit Organization
4 Paws for Ability Trains Service Dogs And BFFs For Kids
I’d like to introduce you to Evan Moss and Mindy. At 8, Evan is the brown-haired, bright-eyed who likes to run, play electronic games, laugh, and 
write. Mindy is the blond, curly-haired golden doodle who was born into this world to spread love…and save a life.
In 11 days time at 4 Paws for Ability, they became BFFs (best friends forever) sharing a common purpose of ensuring that one little boy with a golden heart can ultimately grow into a caring, accomplished adult.
Let me explain.
Evan was born with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) which causes tumors to grow within his vital organs – mostly in his brain, eyes, heart, skin, kidneys and lungs. His first seizure came when he was just a few weeks old. Not long after, doctors needed to remove a tumor from his brain.
Now Evan has night time seizures about 10 days, happening mostly while he sleeps. Most of the time medical attention is necessary. I’m sure you can imagine the stress that has given his parents, and insomnia many nights.
Now they all have relief knowing Evan now has a four-legged friend who can recognize the signs of seizures and make sure he is safe.
Mindy is a 4 Paws for Ability Dog
Located in Xenia, Ohio, 4 Paws for Ability is a wonderful nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to children with a variety of disabilities and to veterans from recent conflicts who have lost use of their limbs or hearing during combat.
Their high success rate of raising dogs for service work is attributable to many factors including that the majority of animals in the program are bred at their facility. 4 Paws also trains with positive reinforcement strategies. I love that they have partnerships with a number of area correctional facilities where inmates earn the privilege to do something positive by way of being a trainer.
Evan, the top selling author
One of the requirements of 4 Paws with its applicants is that they submit a drawing or essay. Evan wrote a book.
What came next was something no one predicted. The media caught wind of what Evan had done. Feature stories led to long lines wherever Evan held book signings. His book, “My Seizure Dog” sold about 4,000 copies, was the No. 1 best seller on Amazon.com’s ‘Kids Health’ section, and was featured on Amazon’s homepage. Now there is even a Kindle version.
But the best part was, Evan raised the entire $13,000 cost of having a new BFF and a new lease on life.
To read the full story on Evan and others who have benefited from 4 Paws for Ability, please visit their blog.
Photo credit: Jessica Noll, community/media relations director for 4 Paws for Ability.
Cincinnati Civil Rights Champions Honored
In Marian Spencer 92 year life, she has fought for civil rights and social change. She is the first black woman elected to Cincinnati City Council, the first woman to serve as president of the local NAACP, and won the lawsuit that desegregated Coney Island in the 1950s. She & her soul mate, the late Donald Spencer who fought alongside her, were honored last weekend by the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati. WLWT-TV Courtis Fuller interviewed Marian. Here is a link to her story: http://vsb.li/Ez6AJj
(photo credit: The Enquirer/Michael E. Keating)
Walk To End Alzheimer’s Participant Walking With Purpose
Thank you to Krista Powers with the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Cincinnati Chapter, for this guest post.
As with many who participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s™, Alzheimer’s disease is a very personal matter to Mindy Ross.
Her grandmother, Betty Giehls, died from Alzheimer’s disease in December 2010, just two months after her husband of 52 years, Ralph, passed away. He was her primary caregiver for nearly 8 years when the couple lived in Arizona. When she eventually required nursing home care, he visited her on a daily basis, often several times a day.
“My grandmother always joked about losing her marbles. We told her that we were her marbles and that she would never lose us,” said Mindy. “When we started this team, we thought the play on words made a lot of sense.”
Last year, Mindy was one of the top individual fundraisers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Walk, raising more than $3,300. Along with her husband, Dave, she will lead her 20-member family team again this year.
“It is sometimes difficult to feel that you can make a difference with an issue as large as Alzheimer’s but with the Walks you feel like every dollar can help,” she said. “It is nice to share the experience as a family.”
After moving from Newport, Ky. to Landon, Ohio, last fall, the Ross family will focus their efforts on the Butler, Warren & Clinton Counties Walk to End Alzheimer’s in West Chester on Sept. 15. This will be the family’s third Walk venue.
“My paps used to take grams to the Alzheimer’s Walks in Tucson and he used the Association’s services there,” said Mindy. “For us here, it is rewarding to do something positive to remember my grandparents and the love they had for one another.”
As the primary national fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association, Walk to End Alzheimer’s is an annual event that brings the community together in a show of remembrance and support for those affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Proceeds from the event will directly fund programs and services of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter as well as national research efforts.
“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of teams like Betty’s Marbles,” said Development Director Krista Powers. “It is our hope that people will again actively support the walk in their community because the need continues to grow every year.”
To register for a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event close, visit: www.alz.org/cincinnati. For more information on how to participate or organize a team, contact Diana Bosse at (513) 721-4284 or dbosse@alz.org or Amy Horn at ahorn@alz.org.
Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Walk
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Sawyer Point
705 E. Pete Rose Way
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Registration 8:30 a.m., Walk 10 a.m.
Distance of Walk Route: 5K
For other regional Walks, please visit this link.
Sample the Great Outdoors in Greater Cincinnati – For Free!
What a great idea! A nonprofit organization called the Green Umbrella is organizing two days – September 22 and 23 – packed with 
over 120 FREE samplings of the best outdoor recreation and nature education activities in our region.
Take a kayak lesson. Hike a new trail. Learn how to cook while backpacking. Explore the tree canopy 60 feet in the air. Shoot a bow and arrow. Tag a Monarch butterfly. Tie a fly. Play a CSI “nature detective”. Look for fossils in a creek. Catch a fish. Paddle the Mill Creek. Learn to row. Band a bird. Eat like an animal at the Cincinnati Zoo.
To plan your great outdoor weekend or view more information on specific events held by participating organizations, go to: www.GreatOutdoorWeekend.org. Printed brochures are also available at Subaru dealerships, area libraries, and at 
all participating organizations.
Great Outdoor Weekend is presented by Green Umbrella and sponsored by Subaru, the Cincinnati Wildflower Preservation Society, Hamilton County Parks, REI, The Licking River Greenway & Trails, Roads Rivers and Trails, Greenacres Foundation and BioGreenChoice. Channel 5 WLWT is media sponsor.
Additional sponsors include Kenton County Parks, Queen City Bikes, Oxbow, Inc., Rumpke, the City of Cincinnati, Little Miami Inc., AIGA Cincinnati, Bayer Becker, Wild Ones and Human Nature.
About Green Umbrella
Green Umbrella is a non-profit organization working to improve the economic vitality and quality of life in the region around Cincinnati by maximizing the collective impact of individuals and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability.
Green Umbrella is the ‘backbone organization’ helping member organizations work better together to promote a more environmentally sustainable region. In partnership with our area’s leading planning initiatives — Vision 2015 in Northern Kentucky and Agenda 360 in Southwestern Ohio — Green Umbrella facilitates collaboration among over 100 area non-profits, businesses, educational institutions and governmental entities focused on the environmental aspects of sustainability.
People Working Cooperatively & Home Depot Repair Homes For Veterans
There are heroes all around us. Willa is one of them. At 80, she can look back at her life with great pride. In 1951, Willa was one of the few trailblazing African American women to enter the military and she valiantly served three tours of duty as a medic both stateside and abroad in the Women’s Army Corps.
Passing by her house – the place that has been the center of her life since returning to civilian living – one would never know what greatness resided within. Today, like so many other military veterans, she has permanent health and mobility issues….and a home in need of repair.
People Working Cooperatively (PWC) and The Home Depot Foundation have joined forces to make an impact. Yesterday, after an announcement of a $155,000 donation by Home Depot to PWC, over 225 local store associates set off to repair and renovate the homes of 15 local veterans – including Willa – who wouldn’t be able to afford those expenses on their own.
For The Home Depot Foundation, this is part of its second annual ‘Celebration of Service Campaign’ where employees across the country repair 100 homes. For PWC, the Campaign marks a new attention focus on the needs of veterans.
“When I joined PWC as an employee, I looked at our waiting list for mobility modifications. There were 58 veterans on the list. I wanted to come up with funding to remove their names,” said Ron Heinlein, a former Home Depot district manager who became PWC’s director of corporate and community partnerships.
And, if you know Ron, the way I do, you know he can get it done. The $155,000 check from Home Depot will cover the renovation costs for those 58 names but the list just keeps growing.
So, with a huge kick-off planned, PWC will have a new ‘Ramp It Up For Veterans Campaign’ running September 11 through Veteran’s Day (November 11), 2012. Donors will be able to text a number and contribute $10 toward PWC’s important work.
If you would like to donate it advance, please visit the PWC website at this link.
