In this Issue |
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New Puppies |
| One of the newest members of The Seeing Eye family is introduced to the puppy experience room. |
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Did You Know?
According to National Industries for the Blind (NIB), 70% of people who are blind are unemployed, while 70% of Seeing Eye® graduates are employed! |
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Annual Online Auction: The Countdown is On!
Our third annual Seeing Eye® online auction will open at 9 a.m. on April 29 and close at 10 p.m. on May 12. Special auction categories will include getaways, jewelry, items for dog lovers, sports, entertainment and accessibility products. A new category will be dedicated to gifts for Mom on Mother’s Day. The Mother’s Day category will close on May 4 to allow time for shipping before the holiday.
Some exciting auction items include a three night stay at Atlantis in the Bahamas, tour for two at The Seeing Eye’s breeding station, the opportunity to name a Seeing Eye puppy, New York Yankees tickets, HumanWare's Voice Note mPower, and a limited edition Madison handbag by Coach. All items in the auction catalog are donated by generous individuals and organizations, and all proceeds from the final sale price of each item go directly back into our programs. If you have something you're interested in donating to help make the auction a success, please visit BiddingForGood.com/SeeingEye Don’t Miss Out! If you live near Morristown, visit The Seeing Eye on Thursday, April 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the auction
catalog preview. Items will be on display in the Dorothy Eustis lounge for bidders to check out before bidding begins the next day! Help us spread the word about our auction! Please encourage your friends and family to participate and share information about our auction on Facebook, Twitter and any other resources you may have. You may also print our 2011 Auction Flyer and post it at your local businesses to help us generate participation. If you plan to post flyers on our behalf, we ask that you get permission from the business owner and be diligent about taking down the flyers after the auction. |
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| A six-week-old German shepherd puppy takes a ride on a "roller coaster" toy car in the Seeing Eye’s puppy experience room. |
Join us for Seeing Eye® Day at Six Flags in New Jersey!
All Seeing Eye supporters are invited for a special Seeing Eye the med day at Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari theme park in Jackson, N. J. Seeing Eye Day is Saturday, May 21 during the normal operating hours of 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Activities for kids and educational presentations hosted by Seeing Eye staff and puppy raisers are scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the park’s Showcase Theater.
A special ticket price of $30 will apply and can be used any regularly scheduled operating day through October 16, 2011 if you are unable to attend Seeing Eye Day on May 21. $5 from each ticket sold will be donated to The Seeing Eye! Tickets include admission to both Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari. Regularly priced combo tickets are over $70 each, so take advantage of this savings which can be used throughout the season!
Go to SixFlags.com/Great Adventure to purchase your tickets. |
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| Arnold, the Black Labrador retriever is shown wearing his harness and smiling for the camera when he was still at The Seeing Eye. |
Seeing Eye Checks up on Arnold in Wake of Devastation in Japan
With the earthquakes, tsunami and threat of radiation in Japan, The Seeing Eye staff, along with the rest of the guide dog community, quickly grew anxious to hear how the guide dog schools in Japan were affected. Included in the Japanese guide dog schools that are members of the International Guide Dog Federation is one in particular that has a special relationship with The Seeing Eye. The Eye Mate, Inc. is located in Tokyo and has Arnold, a 4-year-old black Labrador who The Seeing Eye sent to help with their breeding program. In the weeks following the disaster, all schools and their staff were accounted for and faring well in the aftermath, including Arnold at The Eye Mate. One school, which was located in the region of Send ai that was hit by a tsunami, was lucky enough to survive with minor structural damage. A few guide dog users from the hardest hit areas still remain unaccounted for and the schools are doing everything they can to locate them. |
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| (from left) Celtics forward Glen Davis, Massachusetts Lottery representative Dave Urban, Jim Kutsch with his Seeing Eye dog Colby, and 76ers forward Elton Brand. |
The Seeing Eye Honored at Boston Celtics Game
On April 5, Seeing Eye President and CEO Jim Kutsch was presented with the “Heroes Among Us” Award from the Boston Celtics. Shortly before the start of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Dr. Kutsch (and his Seeing Eye dog, Colby) met with the captains from each team at half-court. Then, during the second time-out of the second quarter, Dr. Kutsch returned to center court, where he was presented with the award while information was shared with the crowd about the mission of The Seeing Eye. The presentation was shown on the arena’s big screens, along with pictures of Dr. Kutsch and Seeing Eye dogs. Perhaps that proved to be an inspiration as the Celtics won the game, 99-82! |
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| A street shot of the CBS Super Screen with the Seeing Eye video playing in Times Square. |
The Seeing Eye Launches Ad on CBS “Super Screen” in Times Square
In March, the Seeing Eye, Inc., unveiled a new advertisement on the CBS Super Screen in Times Square in New York City. The short video features Seeing Eye graduate Justin Kauflin with his Seeing Eye® dog Candy, a black Labrador retriever. It poses the question, “Could you walk these streets without sight?” Justin is a jazz pianist who has been performing professionally since the age of 15. He currently resides in New York City and performs for audiences in Manhattan as well as in Washington, D.C., and his home state of Virginia.
“The Seeing Eye is a truly wonderful organization, and I am always thrilled whenever I can play a small role in helping make others aware of the amazing work they do,” said Kauflin. “I think it’s very important for people to understand how life-changing it is for a blind person to regain independence with the help of a guide dog. Candy is both a great friend and dependable partner who gives me the freedom to travel anywhere with confidence.”
The 15-second ad runs once per hour, from 6 a.m. to midnight daily, through the end of April. The ad begins with a black screen and white text that asks the Times Square crowds, “Could you walk these streets without sight?” followed by a clip of Kaolin crossing a New York City street with his Seeing Eye dog. Next the screen reads “Seeing Eye® dog owners travel safely through busy streets every day.” Then images of Seeing Eye dogs and puppies appear with the appeal, “Help us provide independence to people who are blind.” The Seeing Eye logo and web address appear throughout. Due to the tremendous amount of noise on Times Square, the video has no audio. |
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Seeing Eye® 2010 Annual Report Now Available Online
The Seeing Eye annual report for fiscal year 2010 is now available for download. The theme of the annual report is “The Match”, illustrated on the cover by a close up shot of a hand resting on a harness worn by a Seeing Eye dog. Keeping with the theme, the report contains articles highlighting the special importance of the extensive matching process that takes place for each Seeing Eye dog team. In “The Making of a Match”, the matching process is captured from the unique perspective of the Seeing Eye staff who are most integral to the process. With “Timing is Everything,” readers can learn about how graduate Roger Olberholzer put his faith in the matching process and was paired with a golden retriever named Tango. |
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