Volume 8 In This Issue: -If You Can Make it in New York... -Join us for Seeing Eye Night with the New Jersey Devils! -Save the Date: Ride, Run or Walk for The Seeing Eye -Attention Bidders! -How To Give... And Receive! -Help Us Pave the Path to Independence *** If You Can Make it in New York... (photo caption: Seeing Eye dog in training, Tootsie, is a chocolate lab and was featured in the video and photo slideshow in the news article about unique challenges Seeing Eye dogs face in the Big Apple.) A reporter from Manhattan news site http://www.dnainfo.com followed Master Instructor Joan Markey for a day and wrote about the unique challenges Seeing Eye dogs face in New York City. Seeing Eye graduate and New York City resident Eliza Cooper also met with the reporter to discuss what it’s like to live in New York with a Seeing Eye dog. The result was an article, two photo galleries, and a video about The Seeing Eye. You can view the article at: http://www.dnainfo.com/20120206/manhattan/new-york-city-life-needs-special-breed-of-seeing-eye-dogs. *** Join us for Seeing Eye Night with the New Jersey Devils! (photo caption: A Seeing Eye German shepherd puppy poses in front of The Seeing Eye’s booth at last year’s Devils event. He is wearing a Devils jersey and horns and appears to be smiling into the camera.) Seeing Eye Night with the New Jersey Devils will once again be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The event will be hosted as the NJ Devils face off against the Philadelphia Flyers during the Sunday, March 11 game. The night will feature Seeing Eye demos with puppies and dogs in training, giveaways and a NJ Devils mystery puck sale. Purchase discounted tickets for $45 and included is a $10 food and beverage card. In addition, $10 from each ticket sale will benefit The Seeing Eye! (If you can’t make the March 11 game, you can help support The Seeing Eye by buying tickets for the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, February 26, at 1 p.m.) To purchase tickets, visit http://www.SeeingEye.org/Devils or call Devils group sales at (973) 757-6159. Use special offer code “devils”. *** Save the Date: Ride, Run or Walk for The Seeing Eye Gear up! Gran Fondo Weekend with The Seeing Eye is scheduled for the weekend of September 8-9, 2012. Some new and exciting activities are in the works. The Sept. 9 bike tour will have an 18-mile Breve Fondo in addition to the 43-mile Piccolo, 60-mile Medio and 103-mile Gran Fondo routes. We’ve also added a whole new event: Run 4 The Seeing Eye! On September 8, The Seeing Eye will be the sole beneficiary of a 4-mile and 1-mile walk/run event. As with the bike tour, teams are encouraged to participate and raise funds. Go to http://granfondonj.com/ if you’re interested in signing up or making a donation. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting weekend. Whether you can ride, run, walk, volunteer or donate to this special cause, we’ll need your help! *** Attention Bidders! The fourth annual Seeing Eye Online Auction is fast approaching! Want to help out? Consider donating an item or encouraging your employer to participate. We are seeking donations from the public, including corporations, in the form of items that can be included in the auction and sponsors for this online event, which will be held April 23 through May 2, 2012. We’re excited to announce that we will be offering dinner for four with Betty White. Some other items we have already received include: Seeing Eye leather leashes (not available for sale anywhere else), one-of-a-kind plush dogs in harness (all breeds), hotel stays in Arizona and Boston, a Steuben crystal golden retriever, diamond earrings, and tickets to sporting events. We have a team of volunteers ready to accept your item donation today. For more information or to donate an item, please contact Ginger Kutsch or Elena Halis (an intern at The Seeing Eye who also is a puppy raiser!) at auction@seeingeye.org. *** How To Give… And Receive! Are you 65 or older, and looking to increase your income? Consider a Seeing Eye Charitable Gift Annuity! In exchange for your gift ($10,000 minimum), you can receive an annuity for the rest of your life at very attractive rates – far higher than any bank account is offering in today’s market. Not only will you be helping The Seeing Eye secure its future for all its students and graduates, but you will be helping yourself with tax benefits and a reliable payment schedule. For a confidential, personal proposal, please call 973-539-4425 x1735 or email donate@seeingeye.org (please include your date of birth and contact information). It will be a pleasure to plan this gift with you. *** Help Us Pave the Path to Independence (photo caption: Seeing Eye puppy Vinson and Seeing Eye dog Garcia pose on the newly installed pathway just in front of the door to the main building). Maybe you’re looking to memorialize someone in your life… or maybe you’re looking for that perfect gift for the person who has everything. Personalizing an engraved brick on The Seeing Eye’s Path to Independence is a great way to leave a lasting legacy for you or a loved one. Choose the level of your legacy on the Path to Independence: -A gift of $250 - $499 for a 4-in. by 8-in. brick with room for up to 39 characters. -A gift of $500 - $999 for an 8-in. square brick that contains up to 78 characters. -A gift of $1,000 or more for a 12-in. square paver with up to 128 characters. Bricks will be installed annually, each summer. The deadline to purchase a brick for summer 2012 is April 30. For more information, email donate@seeingeye.org or call 973-539-4425. *** Sidebar Content: New Arrivals: Photo of a black Lab mom with her new litter of black and yellow Lab puppies at the Breeding Station. Caption reads: One of our newest litters of Seeing Eye puppies - a mother black Lab with her black and yellow pups. Click photo to see full size. Photo of a mother black-and-tan German shepherd with her litter of new puppies feeding. Caption reads: One of our newest litters - German shepherd pups busily feeding. Click photo to see full size. *** Facebook Fundraiser Please join us on Facebook for a fundraising campaign that will support The Seeing Eye! The Seeing Eye has been invited to take part in Dog Bless You’s Eyes of March challenge grant. For every “like” to their Facebook page, they will donate $1 up to $100,000 to train guide dogs. Support The Seeing Eye, by visiting http://dogblessyou.com and selecting the “like” button. *** Did you know? The first class of students graduated from The Seeing Eye on February 2, 1929. The organization was just incorporated a few days prior! The photo shows the first graduation photo taken at the facility in Nashville, Tenn. Pictured from left to right: Chief Instructor Jack Humphrey, graduate Dr. Raymond Harris and his dog Tartar, Instructor Adelaide Clifford, graduate Dr. Howard Buchanan and his dog Gala, and Instructor Willi Ebeling. *** Hero Dog Awards For thousands of years, dogs have protected us, comforted us, and given us their unconditional love. Now you can repay the favor, win a trip to Hollywood, and help The Seeing Eye win up to $15,000 in critically needed funds – just by clicking on www.herodogawards.org and nominating your Seeing Eye® dog in the 2012 “American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards™.” *** Footer Content: The Seeing Eye logo in teal and white, linked to http://www.seeingeye.org Facebook icon linked to http://www.facebook.com/seeeingeye Twitter icon linked to http://twitter.com/SeeingEyeInc YouTube icon linked to http://www.youtube.com/seeing4me Button that says "Donate Now", linked to http://www.seeingeye.org/supportUs/ Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity logo linked to http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/blind-and-visually-impaired/seeing-eye-in-morristown-nj-723