Key Center Pet Therapy Program
Donation protected
HELP! PLEASE HELP US KEEP OUR PET THERAPY PROGRAM ALIVE!
Key Center School is a small public school in northern Virginia for students ages 5 to 22 with severe intellectual disabilities, multiple and severe physical disabilities, autism, and severe maladaptive behaviors. We started a pet therapy program 5 years ago to help students push beyond their barriers and find success. This program has exceeded all our expectations. Kris, our pet therapist is a retired special education teacher who meets each student at their own level of need and comfort. She collaborates with staff to address specific concerns and IEP goals and works to train Nic, our therapy dog, to interact with the students in the best way possible for all concerned. Kris and Nic are valued members of our instructional team and it is hard to imagine that we might be facing a school year without animal assisted instruction. We have found that our students (and we are talking students who are non-verbal or non-ambulatory, or who have severe vision impairment or hearing impairment, or who don’t respond to – or even shy away from – human touch) will often do things for Nic that they won’t do for anyone else. They will make eye contact; they will reach farther, try harder, they will push their own boundaries, surpass their own limitations. Our students face so many challenges each and every day, any small success is a triumph in our eyes.
For the past five years, the teachers and families of our school have been supporting this program through bake sales, quilt projects, homemade dog bone sales, anything we can think of. We receive no money from the school system for this program. Last year we turned to GoFundMe to help us ensure that we had enough money to make it through the year. Thankfully, with the help of your generosity, we met our goal, but our coffers are now empty. Please help us raise $8000 by September to fund this program for another year. The next success for our students is just around the corner and we are so thankful to anyone who helps make this happen.
Key Center website
Key Center School is a small public school in northern Virginia for students ages 5 to 22 with severe intellectual disabilities, multiple and severe physical disabilities, autism, and severe maladaptive behaviors. We started a pet therapy program 5 years ago to help students push beyond their barriers and find success. This program has exceeded all our expectations. Kris, our pet therapist is a retired special education teacher who meets each student at their own level of need and comfort. She collaborates with staff to address specific concerns and IEP goals and works to train Nic, our therapy dog, to interact with the students in the best way possible for all concerned. Kris and Nic are valued members of our instructional team and it is hard to imagine that we might be facing a school year without animal assisted instruction. We have found that our students (and we are talking students who are non-verbal or non-ambulatory, or who have severe vision impairment or hearing impairment, or who don’t respond to – or even shy away from – human touch) will often do things for Nic that they won’t do for anyone else. They will make eye contact; they will reach farther, try harder, they will push their own boundaries, surpass their own limitations. Our students face so many challenges each and every day, any small success is a triumph in our eyes.
For the past five years, the teachers and families of our school have been supporting this program through bake sales, quilt projects, homemade dog bone sales, anything we can think of. We receive no money from the school system for this program. Last year we turned to GoFundMe to help us ensure that we had enough money to make it through the year. Thankfully, with the help of your generosity, we met our goal, but our coffers are now empty. Please help us raise $8000 by September to fund this program for another year. The next success for our students is just around the corner and we are so thankful to anyone who helps make this happen.
Key Center website
Organizer and beneficiary
Nicole Mandt Bracken
Organizer
Springfield, VA
Kerry Connolly
Beneficiary
