Melanie Riley
STORY Dogs Mount Gambier have welcomed four pawsome new sponsors on board, bringing fresh support to the cause.
Volunteer coordinator Helen Williams was excited to have several new sponsors on board – Elders, Lions Club of Gambier City, Key2Sale and Noel Barr Toyota.
“We are extremely grateful that they have sponsored the volunteers because without them, the program would not be able to go ahead,” Ms Williams said.
“The students would not have had the opportunity to learn to read with the support of a story dog and the valuable contribution that the story dog program offers to these students.”
Sponsorship covers the assessment of both the dog and handler, the training of the handler, insurances, children’s picture books, a reading rug and uniform for the volunteer.
In addition, the sponsored story dog will wear a vest with the sponsors logo on the side.
Branch manager at Elders Michelle Clarke said she first learnt about Story Dogs after a client reached out for sponsorship assistance – and they jumped onboard to sponsor Belle.
“After reading the purpose of Story Dogs it was a very easy decision for Elders Real Estate Mount Gambier to be inspired to support their cause to ‘Help a child learn to read’ to a local dog team and school,” she said.
She said the importance of children learning to read and building reading skills in a judgement-free space was a huge drive for them.
“It is a wonderful concept to see that our sponsorship would place a dog team into a local school assisting our local children,” she said.
“We could only imagine it would be just as rewarding for the Dog handler and the Dogs would love the extra attention.”
Ms Clark said she hoped their sponsored dog team could make a difference to the lives of the children selected to participate in their Story Dogs program and that everyone involved had fun.
“It is wonderful to see our funding supports local children,” she said.
She said they had an instant connection after meeting Belle and her owner, Jess, and was looking forward to updates and future visits to hear the difference their funding has made.
Lions Club of Gambier City secretary Peter Mitchell said the club decided to sponsor a Story Dog as their way of making a contribution to the community and have sponsored Lexi for Suttontown Primary School.
“By sponsoring a Story Dog, this provides an opportunity to a young person to improve their skills in Literacy,” he said.
“As a young person identified as disadvantaged through a lack of reading skills, the opportunity to read to a Story Dog has created an atmosphere where they feel calm, relaxed, comfortable and non judged by reading to the story dog.”
Mr Mitchell said the program is not only beneficial to the student, but to the story dogs themselves and the sponsors.
“The Story Dog looks to the extra attention,” he said.
“The benefits of the Lions Club include the outcome that the student is well on their way to acquiring that skill for life and the Story Dog will proudly display our name on its vest when attending giving the club recognition.
“It’s our way of contributing to the community and knowing that we have made a contribution that can transform the life of children by ensuring they have the literacy skills they need to thrive.”
He said while they are not new sponsors, the club had been so inspired by the project they extended their current sponsorship a further three years until 2026.
Principal/sales consultant at Key2Sale Gail Richards said they were inspired to sponsor a Story Dog through their Key 2 Kindness Initiative because of the team’s soft spot for animals, and have sponsored Porsha.
“Not only do the majority of us harbour a fondness for dogs and our own fur babies, but witnessing children flourish as a result of having a canine companion visit their school to aid in reading and enhance their literacy skills truly embodies the essence of our Key 2 Kindness values,” she said.
“If children start to enjoy reading because they don’t feel pressure to make mistakes when reading to a dog, they are more likely to keep trying.”
Porsha is Moorak Primary School’s story dog, and with personal connections to the school, Ms Richards felt like it was a perfect fit.
“Both Al and I attended Moorak Primary School, as did my children, so our family has deep roots in the Moorak community,” she said.
Ms Richard said she believes in the values of the story dog program, and believed it is a great initiative encouraging children to read.
“A dog is always happy to see you, so the great part about this initiative is that kids look forward to their story dog visiting,” she said.
“They relax and learn in a very non-competitive and relaxed setting which encourages them to read more.
“We can’t wait to hear how the students go this year with Porsha helping them!”
Customer experience manager at Noel Barr Toyota Jody Leigh was approached by a local member of story dogs and immediately loved the idea of being able to offer support to local children struggling with reading.
“We think it’s a great programme involving the story dogs to be there within the school to offer comfort and encouragement to the kids,” Ms Leigh said.
They have sponsored Jessie James for three years, who will be within McDonald Park School and Ms Leigh said she hoped it would help foster a great friendship between the volunteers, Jessie and the children.
“We believe all children should feel safe and be given the skills to learn in a positive environment. We hope Jessie and Karen can help with this.”
Ms Leigh encouraged other local businesses to get involved in sponsoring for it’s many benefits to all involved.
“We think programmes that support local children, and our community are very worthwhile,” she said.
“We would recommend this programme to others, especially because we get visits and cuddles with Jessie too!”
Sponsorship is tax deductible, and is available in various packages, depending on budget.
For those interested in sponsorship, please contact Helen Williams on 0428 281 876.
