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Visitation Mission Team

Visitation Mission Team update 5/23/2010

Our team has been meeting monthly since April, with our next meeting scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, June 16th. At this time, for purposes of organization, our team meets as a whole and then splits into two subgroups, those looking to volunteer with or without dogs. Ashley Crihfield (email below) is organizing those with dogs and John Fryback ( jwfryback@aol.com) is heading our team members who are looking for opportunities that do not involve dogs. When the majority of our team members have identified and committed to a specific volunteer opportunity, the focus of our monthly meetings will shift to a discussion of the rewards and challenges of visitation and how it relates to our growing spirituality. We will also continue to provide advice and guidance to new members entering our group.

Several members of our team have successfully completed therapy dog training at the Bandilane Canine Center, and four dogs (“Daisy” Thalheim, “Ben” Brash, “Tank” Lorenze, and “Dazy” LaCivita) recently passed their TDI (Therapy Dog International) certification test! The owners of these dogs are now beginning to visit local nursing homes, hospitals, schools and libraries to see where they and their dogs fit in best. A few other dog/owner teams have begun making visits to Greenwich’s Nathaniel Witherell nursing home, a facility that does not require dogs that visit to be certified.

John Fryback is organizing a group of volunteers who will soon begin visiting the Tandet Center, a rehabilitation center located near Stamford Hospital, on weekly basis. Within a month we hope to have at least ten team members making regular visits within our community.

Send emails regarding the Visitation mission to: acrihfield@optonline.net