HOPE for Crestview
Donation protected
Crestview Elementary School is part of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School board and is located in Chomedey, Laval. Our school has a student body of approximately 250 students Kindergarten to Grade 6. Crestview's student population and diverse needs make it a unique school in our board. Crestview caters to students with various exceptionalities such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, as well as several low ratio Special Education Classes catering to range of exceptionalities from ASD, learning disorders, emotional and behavioural disorders and ADHD. In recent years, the needs of students has shifted and includes students with a range of mental health issues who are waiting to be serviced by the public health system or who do not have adequate support or resources at home to cope with the issues. Balancing the academic and social-emotional needs of all the students is something the community at Crestview strives for daily.
To address the pervasive needs of our students, Crestview Elementary has sought out the support of the Asista Foundation; a foundation that provides service dogs for individuals and communities that have mental health or related needs. Research supports that when people are in the presence of a trained service dog, it can reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure. Specifically, studies support that among students having anxiety, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and behavioural difficulties that their level of anxiety is lowered when in the presence of a service dog (Beetz, Uvnäs-Moberg, Julius & Kotrschal, 2012).
The presence of a service dog at Crestview would help reduce anxiety and negative emotions among students and foster a safe environment conducive to learning by allowing children to have a positive school experience. Our recent collaboration with Asista has become fruitful and on Thursday, February 22, 2018, Crestview welcomed our new service dog to the Crestview Community. She is a beautiful black Labrador by the name of “Hope” who has been socialized specifically for an elementary school clientele.
While the Crestview community is willing and prepared to acknowledge and support the needs of our students, hindering our progress is a lack of financial resources to see this intervention through. We have currently depleted all financial resources and are in need of financial support to cover the remaining balance of $15 000. The fee includes the service dog, over 2000 hours of training (both dog and guardian) by the Asista Foundation and the Laval Police Community, insurance for one year, veterinary fees and follow-ups to ensure appropriate care and training.
We would graciously accept any monetary donation that we can put towards obtaining a service dog. We thank you for considering our school and welcome you to the Crestview community.
To address the pervasive needs of our students, Crestview Elementary has sought out the support of the Asista Foundation; a foundation that provides service dogs for individuals and communities that have mental health or related needs. Research supports that when people are in the presence of a trained service dog, it can reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure. Specifically, studies support that among students having anxiety, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and behavioural difficulties that their level of anxiety is lowered when in the presence of a service dog (Beetz, Uvnäs-Moberg, Julius & Kotrschal, 2012).
The presence of a service dog at Crestview would help reduce anxiety and negative emotions among students and foster a safe environment conducive to learning by allowing children to have a positive school experience. Our recent collaboration with Asista has become fruitful and on Thursday, February 22, 2018, Crestview welcomed our new service dog to the Crestview Community. She is a beautiful black Labrador by the name of “Hope” who has been socialized specifically for an elementary school clientele.
While the Crestview community is willing and prepared to acknowledge and support the needs of our students, hindering our progress is a lack of financial resources to see this intervention through. We have currently depleted all financial resources and are in need of financial support to cover the remaining balance of $15 000. The fee includes the service dog, over 2000 hours of training (both dog and guardian) by the Asista Foundation and the Laval Police Community, insurance for one year, veterinary fees and follow-ups to ensure appropriate care and training.
We would graciously accept any monetary donation that we can put towards obtaining a service dog. We thank you for considering our school and welcome you to the Crestview community.
Organizer
Aimee Elizabeth Parsons
Organizer
Laval, QC
