NEW CLIENT

Earlier this month I received an e-mail from the Reading Specialist at the Lake Avenue School in the City of Saratoga Springs School District.  She advised that she had been contacted by her principal and wanted to know of our availability for the coming school year.  My e-mail to her stated that we welcomed the opportunity to work with her.  Look forward to further posts on this "new job" in the fall.

SPREADSHEET SCHEDULING

Recently, one of my fellow Rotarians made a suggestion which I have implemented and found very helpful.  That is, on a monthly basis, I have put Casey's schedule on a speadsheet.  This spreadsheet is passed among the membership at our weekly meeting.  The advantage in drawing up and distributing the spreadsheet a month in advance, is that potential volunteer drivers can consult their schedule and volunteer without the possibility of a conflict.
Right now we are working with Casey's August schedule.  The fact that the summer is a slower period for us, coupled with the "new" spreadsheet system, has allowed us to provide services  with minimal hindrance. 

IMPACT

Tradionally, the second and third quarters are the slowest of the four quarters.  As summer nears, the school districts wind down and have many year end activities that don't include The Therapy Dog, Inc.  In the summer there is no school and our services are not used.  In order to lessen the impact of "no school" I sent letters to the superintendents of the Saratoga Springs City School District and the Ballston Spa Central School District, advising of our availability for summer school.  Unfortunately, Saratoga Springs informed me that they wouldn't be using our services this summer and Ballston Spa never extended the courtesy of a response to my inquiry(even though I followed up with an e-mail to the superintendent).

In my last Post I stated that several volunteers had come forward to transport Casey and I to and from jobs.  This has been immensely helpful.  I have extended an invitation to the volunteer drivers to work with Casey and I.  Several have accepted this invitation.