Letter to the Editor of the Bucks County Herald
Opinion and Editorial, Letter to the Editor, Bucks County Herald
Resiliency in Challenging Times
Resiliency is a word that has made its way into my orbit a lot recently. Tasked with trying to think of a word that best describes our Roxy™ Therapy Dogs volunteers for 2020, I am once again drawn back to resilient. In March 2020, our work as we know it came to a grinding halt. Suddenly we found ourselves unable to physically support and comfort the children in our community at a time when they needed us the most.
Our volunteers did not take this as a defeat but more so as a challenge. Our volunteers launched a "Roxy Reads™" program online. We typically listen to students read to us during school visits so we enjoyed reading to them for a change. Teams visited classes virtually.
We held a Roxy Pup Portrait Contest for students to enter by drawing photos of their favorite dog as well as a Roxy Pup Poem Contest for students who chose to write about their favorite instead.
Our very first Roxy Certificate of Excellence lecture series, Insights into the Child with Autism was scheduled for March 2020 but with a lot of creativity and hard work, our volunteers figured out how to put together a virtual lecture.
Volunteers created "Roxy on Demand,” videos in response to the school district’s request.
“So, we at Roxy Therapy Dogs want to say thank you for helping us achieve good things across our community even in the light of Covid19 challenges.”
Our accomplishments were greater than we could have anticipated in 2020, but we did not reach them alone. Every person who has supported our organization was right there with us every step of the way. So, we at Roxy Therapy Dogs want to say thank you for helping us achieve good things across our community even in the light of Covid19 challenges. You helped us stay connected to the children in our community even though we could not be with them in person. One thing I know for sure is that the resilience of our volunteers and this community is immeasurable. We are grateful to be a part of it.
—Sharon Fleck, President, Roxy™ Therapy Dogs