4 Paws for Riley

2009-02-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

We have been placed into the Dec 1-11 class for training.
We are so excited and can't wait for Dec to come. We will keep you all updated on our fudraising for travel expenses and any other news that comes along.

2009-02-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO We just recieved a donation today that finished our fundraising for 4 Paws for Ability!!! So we raised the $13,000 needed to train the dog. We will continue to takes bottles and donations for our travel expenses to help with the cost of airfare and the 2 weeks of hotel Thank you to everyone who has help to raise these funds and to everyone for supporting Riley in this life changing event I will continue to post about our fundraising for the travel and all about when our class will be Thank you again ... God does have angels among us !!!!

2009-02-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

2009-02-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

We received a ton of bottles from the Harvest Hay Project. When I say ton I mean it.. I have started sorting and tagging them and Norm took in half of them to High Level and we received just over $1,200 for them. I posted some pics from when the bottles arrived. Thank You So much!! I will be finishing up the rest of the bottles soon.

January Bottle drive

2009-01-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

After all the sorting Norman & I did the cans and bottles that were donated over the past month have raised $814.00 for Riley 4 Paws. Thank you very much to all those who donated their cans and bottles. We can not express how thankful we are to live in such a caring and wonderful community. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.
We are over half way to our goal of 13,000; we have 7,000 donated to 4 Paws for Ability for Riley's service dog. We have 2,000 toward our travel expenses during the 2 week training we will be attending. We are hoping to raise the rest of the 13,000 as soon as possible so that we can be placed in the Dec. 2009 training class. It will take 4 Paws for Ability 9 to 12 months to have Riley's dog trained specifically for him and then we attend the handling portion of training.
Once again we can not tell you how much you all mean to us and how you are helping to improve Riley's life.

2008-12-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

2008-12-04T11:19:00.001-08:00

A big thank you to Sue Pankiw, Sarah Skinner, Amanda Kavanagh, Sylvia Brown for opening your homes to Host a Gold Canyon Party for Riley 4 Paws in November. And a big Thankyou to all those who placed an order. All the profits are donated to Help us reach our goal of 13,000 and for travel expenses for training. THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!

Rainbow Lake Craft Fair Table

2008-12-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

We had a table at the Rainbow Lake School Christmas Craft fair this year for 4 Paws for Riley. We sold Doggie treats, candles, necklaces, epicure gift baskets. Grandma Van Vliet made the sweetest little hats and purses to sell. We had a wonderful response to our items and raised $623.00. Thank you to everyone who visted our table with out the support of the wonderful people in our community this would not be possible. Thanks so much !!!

2008-09-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Super Thanks to Christina Lennie for hosting an Epicure Party for Riley. The orders are coming in and looks like well over $100.00 profit will go to Help Riley recieve his dog. Thanks Again !!!

2008-09-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

Big Thankyou to all of those who donated Bottles and cans to Riley. We sorted and took them to High Level for $480.00!! Woo Hoo !! If anyone else would like to donate bottles or cans just give us a call and we can pick them up.

New House

2008-08-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a little crazy around our house lately.. We had to move to a new home last week and we are trying to settle in. We were afraid the move would be hard on Riley since our old home is the only place he has ever lived. But he took the move good and refuses to go back to the old house for anything. We are off to Edmonton for more appointment this week and to pick up Grandma Janny. So Riley is excitied to go. Hope to get some more fundraising going when we return.

Norwex & Epicure

2008-07-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

All profits from my Norwex book party have been donated by Chantelle to help Riley obtain his dog. So anyone interested in placingan order for a good cause just let me know.

All profits from Epicure orders from now until our goals are met will go to help with the cost also.
Please let me know if you would like a catalog. They are having a sale right now getting ready for the catalog to come out. If you would like to host a party just let me know I am available for that too. And all of my profits go to Riley.

Riley at grad

2008-07-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of Riley ! He is such a smart and wonderful little boy with so much potential. We are working hard to help him with his social and communcation skills. This dog will help him with those skills too. The dog will become a social topic for him to talk about with his peers and others.

2008-07-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

We are planning to host a dinner and dance fundraiser for 4 Paws for Ability in September along with a silent auction or Raffle event. Please let Norman or Maggie know if you would like to help out in any way with this event or if you have any planing ideas. riley4paws@rocketmail.com

2008-07-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of brainstorming for some fundraiser ideas and then we will submit them to 4 paws for approval and then get started. If anyone has an idea or wants to help out us out in planning or donating some time that would be great. Chantelle Bentley has been so generous in donating her sales profit from a Norwex party as well as helping me in a scrap a thon we are planning for the fall. So all you scrappers and card makers be on the look out for this fun event. I am busy sewing and crafting for the Christmas Craft show I am planning on having a table with all sales going to 4 Paws for Ability. If anyone is interested in donating any handmade items or anything else to the table that would be great. It makes us feel great knowing what wonderful friends and neighbors we have in Rainbow lake and elsewhere.

4 Paws for Ability

2008-07-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

As a father of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have found it challenging as my son grows up to keep him safe. We have spent, and continue to spend, many many hours with flash cards, verbal and written cues, rewards, and pretty much everything you can think of to try to get Riley to understand what is a good choice and what is a bad choice. He does not understand how his actions may result in a safety related issue. Riley has gone out the back door in -20 degree weather with no coat or boots on, he has run out in the middle of the street many times without knowing if it was safe to do so, and will run away from me if he sees something cool at the mall. He is getting so big now that I can hardly pick him up to carry him anymore when he does these types of things. He is a big 5 year old boy and is about 65 pounds. Imagine trying to carry a boy like that who is trying to fight you to go someplace that he really wants to see!
Having a service dog in our family will help Riley so much. The dog will be trained to be not only Riley's little buddy, but will be able to help keep him calm, track him if he gets away from us, and keep him from getting into an unsafe situation. We can't wait until the dog comes! We just need to get the fundraising done before they will start to train the dog. We are tasked with fundraising $13,000 to get his dog going on training, so it will be a challenge. If you can find it in your heart to help us out in raising some funding for his dog, we would be forever greatful. We also appreciate any kind comments and thank you for your support.