Ann Hart, President of the Autism Society of America, Greater Austin Chapter (ASGA) is spreading the word about an opportunity to help children who will benefit from therapy dog programs:
"After a year of trying, we have made it into the Pepsi Refresh Everything campaign!! We have 30 days to try and get the most votes for our Teaching social skills to teens with Asperger’s using therapy dogs program. We are in the $50,000 category – so definitely worth your time to vote. This is national – so send to everyone, far and wide that could vote. Our goal is to make a difference for children not just here in Austin, but nationwide.
We are seeking funding to expand our program of using therapy dogs to teach social skills to children with Asperger’s Syndrome. In the 2010/11 school year, we piloted the program and it worked great. We want to expand, bring in the University of Texas to scientifically study the efficacy and document our curriculum so it can be shared with therapist and others who work with dogs and children who have autism. If we get the funding we can help more kids here in Austin as well as have the potential to help kids across the country.
You can vote by linking on our Pepsi page at Refresh Everything : Autism Dogs
http://www.refresheverything.com/autismdogs
You can also like our program in Facebook and then all your friends will have an easy way to find the link."
You will be asked to "Sign-In" to vote. This can be done through one of two ways:
- Your Facebook account
- A Free Pepsi Account
Check out therapy dogs in action!
Characteristics of Therapy Dogs (from Therapy Dogs International)
- A Therapy Dog is a dog with an outstanding temperament
- A Therapy Dog tolerates other animals
- A Therapy Dog wants to visit with people
- A Therapy Dog loves children
- A Therapy Dog gets along with other dogs
Check back with Austin Special Needs Kids Examiner for a future article on a local therapy dog center Divine Canines.
"Pepsi is funding amazing ideas that refresh the world. Dream it, submit it, get enough votes and we'll help make it happen for your community!" ~Pepsi Website
Note: this is article is not an endorsement of Pepsi but an announcement about the Pepsi Refresh Project/voting contest on behalf of Autism Society of Greater Austin. Austin Special Needs Kids Examiner was not paid for this article, nor did Pepsi or The Autism Society of America solicit it.
more photo credit: Maggie Smith
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