Welcome to the April 2020 Roxy Reporter Newsletter!
Finnegan and Cheryl Luginbuhl, Chairman of the Board
Notes from Chairman of the Board
To our volunteers and community members, we hope everyone is well and staying safe. Our thoughts are with you. Finnegan and I are missing our kids and our teachers terribly but we’re doing our small part to keep everyone in the community safe from the spread of this awful virus.
Please check out our “Roxy Reads” videos online. They are awesome! I guarantee you that it will make both children and adults smile. Thanks to our amazing volunteers for creatively connecting with our community during this time of social distancing.
As always, we appreciate you, all of our volunteers and this wonderful community that we live in. Our Roxy teams are anxiously waiting to get back to work with you, till then, please stay home and stay safe.
Cheryl Luginbuhl, Chairman of the Board
A Special Thank You
Roxy would like to recognize and share our appreciation for three wonderful community organizations that have stepped in to help support Roxy and our goals during this unsettling time. First, we would like to thank Michael Rush and the Rush family, founders of Future Stars Camps, for their generous gift of $5,000. Roxy plans to participate with Future Stars Camps at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown this summer. There will be more information to come about this in the future.
We would also like to thank Robert and Sally Huxley of The Haley Foundation located in New Hope/Solebury for their gift of $5,000 to support our advanced education program, Certificate of Excellence. Although the launch of our program was postponed due to Covid-19, it will be rescheduled. The Haley Foundation’s funding goals focus on children and animals. We look forward to a compassionate and productive partnership with them.
Finally, thanks to the Bucks County Bar Association’s gift of $1,000 to purchase crayon and coloring book packages. These packages are distributed to children who visit with Roxy teams in family court at the Bucks County Courthouse.
Michael Rush, President of Future Stars Day Camps, together with his wife Jennifer, and two daughters, Caroline and Julianna, presented the sponsorship to members of the Roxy organization, and several of its dedicated dogs, on March 10, 2020
CB Schools Closed
In conjunction with Governor Tom Wolf's order to close Pennsylvania schools through the end of the academic year, the Central Bucks School District (CBSD) has extended their school closures and transitioned to distance learning through June 15, 2020.
Obviously, your Roxy teams are disappointed about not being able to visit their classes and concerned for the children and teachers. However, we want you to know that your Roxy family will always be a dependable, positive support system for you and your children, whether visits are on hold or not.
For now, please take strength in knowing we are “all in this together”, and that your Roxy family is always here to help and comfort. You can connect with us anytime and visit with your furry friends on Facebook or www.roxytherapydogs.org.
Let us know if you need anything. Be safe out there.
Roxy Reads!
Our Roxy teams can't visit you during this pandemic, but we still want to provide you and your children with support and comfort at home.
How?
By reading our favorite books aloud — with our favorite furry friends, our Roxy Therapy Dogs, of course!
We created videos for you to watch and share with your family. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed creating them for you!
View online at Roxy Reads!
Inspired By Our Hospital Heroes
Our Doylestown Hospital heroes inspire us every day, even more so now that they are on the front lines in the global fight against the coronavirus.
To offer some comfort and emotional support, the dedicated volunteers of Doylestown Health's Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) program have created a virtual pet therapy program. The video features some of our very own Roxy dogs including; Boomer, Lowen, Sam, Scooter, Pip, Bentley, Bella and Panda.
View it on Doylestown Health's Therapy Dogs "Speak" Amid COVID-19. It is sure to make you smile!
Pip
Welcome New Teams
Please join us in welcoming our newest Roxy dog, Pip, who is the second therapy dog of our Roxy Director of Pediatric Comfort at Doylestown Hospital, Joyce Rivas. Joyce and Pip are a welcome addition who join us in supporting our mission of bringing comfort to children, enhancing the experience of learning, and enriching the lives of our canine and human volunteers.
To learn more about all of Roxy's dogs, visit Meet Our Dogs.
In Memoriam
With heavy hearts we mourn the loss of two special Roxy dogs this quarter; our sweet Emma and our smiling Juma. We are forever grateful to their handlers for sharing them with Roxy and the children in our community. They will be missed.
Upcoming Roxy Events
Cancer Support Community of Greater Philadelphia’s Camp (Gilda’s Club) on June 23 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at 200 Kirk Road in Warminster. This event is for children who either have cancer or who have a family member with cancer.
Visit Events for additional details.
The following events have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic:
Bucks County 911 Call Center on April 14 and 16
Activities Day (A-Day) at Delaware Valley University on April 26
Citizenship Day at Doyle Elementary School on May 20
Nova’s NO BULLYing Run on June 14