Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Florence Lundy: Supporting Guide Dogs for More Than 30 Years!

Southeastern Guide Dogs is lucky to have an amazing base of loyal supporters, but few have been around as long as Florence Lundy. Here’s a little bit about her.

Not many people can say that they have supported a cause as long as 96-year-old Florence Lundy. As a member of the now defunct Tropic Isles Mobile Home Park Arts & Crafts Club, Florence first learned of Southeastern Guide Dogs from another member of the club who talked everyone into coming to campus for a tour.  The school, in its infancy, consisted of one building, a few staffers, and some dogs, but Florence and her fellow club members saw the impact a dog could have on someone’s life. When the Arts & Crafts Club disbanded, they had $400 in the club’s account that they decided to donate to Southeastern. Florence proudly keeps the cancelled check from 1983 as a reminder of their good deeds.  During the early days of the school, …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Gearing up for a Trifecta of Walkathons

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ biggest fundraiser of the year is now bigger than ever!

Every year Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon draws supporters from all over the country.  Some are volunteers, some graduates, some sponsors and others just want to get out and walk with their best friend.  With its growing popularity this year’s Walkathon is actually happening over three weekends! February 23 sees the kick-off of the trifecta of Walkathons in Bradenton at the newly renovated Rossi Park.  Walkathon is going back to its roots and kicking off with the Bradenton contingent along the Manatee Riverfront. Next, Walkathon moves to Sarasota for its first walk at Payne Park on March 2.  Our friends from the south can enjoy all Walkathon has to offer while not having to venture too far from home. Finally, the Walkathon season …

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Lakewood Ranch High School Set to Unveil Land Lab

The FFA is hosting a barbecue fundraiser and tour of the expanded agriculture campus.

Lakewood Ranch High School has expanded it's agricultural campus into a new Land Lab and the school is hosting a barbecue dinner and campus tours Friday to show off the expanded campuses complete with greenhouses. The Lakewood Ranch FFA and the FFA Alumni are putting together, Ranch Roundup an inagural fundraising event that includes a silent auction and barbecue. The event 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lakewood Ranch High School cafeteria. They will be offering a pulled pork dinner for $8 a plate.

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Help Celebrate National Service Dog Month

September is National Service Dog Month: Here’s a look at what that’s all about.

National Guide Dog Month was the brain-child of actor and pet activist, Dick Van Patten. He was greatly impressed years ago by the training and intelligence of guide dogs while touring a guide dog school. Through his Natural Balance Pet Foods and The Petco Foundation, Van Patten took up the challenge of fundraising for guide dogs. In 2008, Natural balance and Petco began a fundraising campaign to benefit guide dog schools in the U.S. who held accreditation from the International Guide Dog Federation, including, of course, Southeastern Guide Dogs. Each year, during the month of September, Natural Balance and Petco work together to raise money and awareness of the great work these dogs do.  This year they have expanded the scope of the …

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County Workers Boost United Way Coffers

Manatee County Government employees are set to become the third employee group to donate a total of $2 million to Manatee County United Way.

Manatee County employees just need $1,049 to top their goal of raising $2 million for the United Way of Manatee County. After hitting a $1.9 million cumulative mark last year through fundraising events and payroll donations, employees are determined to make that $2 million career donation goal on Saturday during their third annual United Way bowling tournament. Saturday's event is expected to put Manatee County employees in a league with employees from Tropicana and Publix. “Manatee County employees have truly set a new standard for philanthropy through their generous financial contributions over many years to help advance the common good,” said Philip Brown, United Way president. “Their commitment to our community is consistent with their…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Building First Class Teams With the Support of the Community

Do you belong to a group that wants to make a difference in the community? Southeastern Guide Dogs needs you!

It costs a lot of money to run the programs here at Southeastern Guide Dogs.  You have probably already heard the figure of $60,000 as the cost to create and nurture a guide dog team for life.  Considering the fact that we create approximately 80 to 100 new guide dog teams per year, you can see that it takes substantial funds to do the work we do.  One of the ways we fundraise is by enlisting the broad reach of civic-minded groups to run what we classify as third-party fundraisers. These third-party fundraisers can be diverse in their activity from bake sales and car washes to golf tournaments and concerts.  We are lucky that we have a strong base of loyal supporters who believe in our mission and work hard to make sure we can continue to …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Good News From Southeastern's Walkathon Wrap-Up

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon was last weekend. In case you didn’t make it to Vinoy Park, here’s a wrap-up of the day’s events.

It was a gorgeous day March 3 down by the waterfront in St. Petersburg when people gathered for the 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon. The site was laid out with a variety of activities for the whole family – there were three giant bounce houses/slides for the kids, food trucks with delicious fare, dog massage, and a giant tent that housed both of Southeastern’s gift shops. By dinner the day got even better with volunteer awards and a big surprise for Southeastern Guide Dogs. The walk was led by Petey, the First Pup of St. Petersburg, and Miss St. Pete.  The line of walkers seemed never-ending as they made their way along the 3K walk. Many different breeds of dog were in attendance from Great Pyrenees to teacup Pomeranians, all…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Getting Ready for the Walkathon

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon is this weekend. Ever wonder what it takes to put on such an event? Here’s the breakdown by the numbers.

Saturday, March 3 is the 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon.  While the walk participants likely just spend a little bit of time getting ready to walk, at Southeastern we have been planning this event for the past year.  Here’s a snapshot at what all goes into getting ready for Walkathon. Number of Southeastern Guide Dogs Staff at the walk: 68 Number of Volunteers at the walk: 170 Number of trained dogs for blindfold walks: 20 Number of Fundraisers: 1,986 Number of Fundraisers who created sitstaygive.org pages: 246 Number of Tents: 8 Length of walk: 3K Number of food trucks: 3 Pounds of BBQ Chefs Rob & Lance will be cooking: 100 Number of Silent Auction items: 35 Number of raffle prizes: 3 (including the $10,000 grand prize) …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Come Join the Guide Dog Family

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon is not only a great fundraiser, but a terrific way to be a part of a fantastic community.

The 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon is set for March 3. Walkathon is Southeastern’s biggest fundraiser and this year looks like it will surpass all the previous years with record attendance expected.  “We outgrew our previous locations, so this year we are moving the walk to St. Pete’s Vinoy Park,” said Stacey Price, Special Events Manager, “and the city of St. Petersburg has welcomed us with open arms.”  The new location has allowed Southeastern to expand the activities of the day to include something for the whole family. This year’s Walkathon is shaping up to be a fun-filled morning for everyone, two-legged and four-legged alike.  Obviously, dogs are more than welcome at the walk and there will even be a dog masseuse on …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Get Ready to Walk!

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ biggest fundraiser of the year is set for March 3, but people are getting ready for it now, here’s why.

Every year Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon draws supporters from all over the country.  Some are volunteers, some graduates, some sponsors and others just want to get out and walk with their best friend. This year’s Walkathon looks to bring the biggest crowd yet with the location being shifted to St. Petersburg’s Vinoy Park.  The gorgeous location along with a street fair vibe complete with food vendors and fun things for the whole family are sure to bring crowds in droves. What makes Walkathon different from all other charity walks?  It’s dog-friendly, of course!  Not only are dogs welcome, but expected to join in on the fun – and with the dog’s registration fee comes a dog bandana.  You’re likely to be walking alongside dogs from …

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