3D"http://www.kpets.org/ccpics/logobannerpodsmall.jpg" <= /p>

&= nbsp;

KPETS Keynotes<= /span>

Newlsetter by Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services = ; March 2011

Dates to Remember<= o:p>

Think Spring BBQ Beer Dinner:

Sunday, March 20,

3 - 6 pm at

Union Barrel Works

RSVP by 3/14

Round Table Luncheon
Saturday, March 12
Bring your own boxed lunch this time to the Blair Room, in the KPETS office building.RSVP

KPETS Kanine Karniva= l:

Saturday, June 12,

11 - 3 pm

Grater Park, Ephrata

Bow Wow Bingo: Summer 2011

Meet our Dinner Sponsors - so far

A Tai= l to Tell Puppy Mill Rescue

by Pancake Farm Ephrata

In Memory of

Podle= y Gerth

by Bill Gerth

Creekside Dental

Alici= a's Kennel

by Stephen Bellone

We still have courses to sponsor for our dinner! Please contact Jenny to find out how you or your company can be included in this event.

Important Links

Open = Visit Requests

Log y= our volunteer hours here!

&nb= sp;KPETS= Forum

&nb= sp;Previ= ous Newsletters

KPETS= Blog

Health Safety Tip

of the Month

From: Pet Plan Insurance Newsletter

www.g= opetplan.com/

Daffodil Days - There's no better sign that spri= ng has arrived than the appearance of daffodils. The March birth flower, the daffodil signifies rebirth, respect and regard, and= is symbolic of cancer campaigns such as the American Cancer Society's annual Daffodil Days. Unfortunately, this heralded spring saluter also signifies a serious health t= hreat for pets. If ingested, daffodil bulbs can cause vomiting, abdom= inal pain, diarrhea and worse.

Facilities Recognize Our Val= ue !

BRAG TIME !

KP= ETS is becoming more and more recognized as an important part of the therapy setting for patients in hospitals.

&n= bsp;

Re= cently, Lancaster Rehabilitiation Hospital redesigned their eight-page marketing brochure. One of the thin= gs they were sure to include was the mention of pet therapy provid= ed by KPETS. In the brochure is a picture of our own Nancy Houston= and Gilly! I was told by staff at the R= ehab Hospital, they have had patients tell them, they chose LRH BECA= USE of the pet therapy program they provide in their Physical Therapy department! Click= here click= here for KPETS highlights.

&n= bsp;_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

An= other brag we have is from Hershey Medical Center. HMC designed their= pet therapy brochure and mentioned KPETS and included several of our KPETS dogs! Cindy Wilson's Denver (in bowtie) and Casey (in Penn State bandanna), Laura Whitman's Reni (beagle laying with patie= nt) and Nancy Diemlers' Spice Girl (nose to nose w/lion) were featured. Thanks to all w= ho visit there and are "Touching Lives and Warming Hearts&quo= t;. Click= here to view the brochure in pdf format.

Congratuations teams!You do KPETS proud!

Items still available for Sale! !

KPETS Kalendars- pri= ce reduced to $7 + $1 to send.

Visit the

KPETS= Store
for more goodies for sale

Pet Birthdays

for March<= o:p>

Tammy Varner

Reni Whitman

Rosie Smith

Cornelius Hrusth

Zoe Caldwell

Riplee Gillin

Zoe Schreder

Leo Harnish

Sandy Hirt

Abby Hess

Guiness Smith

Tucker Bock

Owen Cassel

Maggie Althouse=

Frankee Doughe= rty

Lyla Palinko<= /span>

Biggie Hickey

Brady Titus

Rocky Henkels <= /o:p>

Korie Rodstein

Tango Newcomer

Blaze Dougherty

Denver Wilson

Diesel Farmer

Shadow Koch

Billy Erb

D'Artagnan= Janicki

Please note: if we missed your pet's birthday it= is not intentional. It just means we have no date of birth on file= or we need to fix.. (The default we put= for those is 1/1/Year.

Updates = ! !

Volunteer Round Tables Lancaster= - 2nd Sat of odd numbered months

<= br> Join us for our NEW Volunteer Round Table Luncheon, Saturday, M= arch 12. It will be held at 11 am in the Blair Room (NO pups at this meeting, please), right down the hall from the KPETS office - t= he same room as orientations. This first Round Table will be a box lunch meeting. So bring your own goodie bag and drink and enjoy= the company of other KPETS volunteers and those working on becoming registered with KPETS. We'll talk about what we'd like to see in the future at these gatherings - Book club, info discussions, <= span class=3DGramE>guest speakers? Come share your ideas! Be = sure to RSVP to Jenny so we know how many to expect. Really hope to = see you there:)

Lending Library Update:

Thanks to Suzanne Solodky, the videos and books are in the proc= ess of being added to the Forum under the Lending Library Listin= g. If you see a book or video you'd like to borrow, contact Jenny = at Konnections@kpets.org= . You can pick it up or we can mail it to you (you'll just need to co= ver the shipping).

Coming soon

KPETS Annual Report

Safety Tip Links

T= hink Spring Backyard BBQ Dinner
Sunday, March 20 from 3 - 6 pm

F= IRST KPETS "Think Spring Backyard BBQ Dinner"

Won't you please come out and support KPETS at our first&nb= sp;Think Spring Backyar= d BBQ Dinner Sunday, March 20 at Union Barrel Works, Reamst= own, PA from 3 - 6 pm. RSVP by March 14. This will be a seven-course BBQ theme = meal with a special beer to accompany each course. (Three glasses of w= ine may be substituted with notification upon reservation). I've attended a similar event and it was a great time (and I drink NO alcohol) as well as a great fund-raiser for the organization.

There will be door prizes, raffles and a Chinese Auction too. So tell your friends, family or co-workers. Tickets = are $60 per person or pull together a table of eight to get= a reduced rate of $450.

Sponsorship opportunities are available, too. For $400, you or a company get a table for four and includes your nam= e or business name in the program as a course or beer sponsor and list= ed on our Beer Dinner Web page, as well as a spot at our PR Display Table at the event. But if you are unable to attend, you can get the same sponsorship as above but without the dinner tickets= for $200.

We are hoping this will be a great fundraiser for KPETS and will be able to do this annually. So get the gang toget= her and we'll see you there!

To register, contact BBQDinner@kpets.org or call the office at 888.68.kpets (888.685.7387)!

We Need Your Stories ! !
Tell us! <= /b> We know all 300 of you KPETS volunteers are out there visiting and sharing your pets with others. We KNOW you have great heart-warming stories to tell! Please send them to K= arenG@kpets.org so we can add them to our blog and to our newsletter. SHARE = the joy!

Here They Come to Save the Day!

KPETS teams are on the way!

W= e cannot express how much we appreciate the efforts of all our volunteer= s in our pursuit of funding to keep KPETS around and serving our communities in the years to come.

H= ere is an example of how our volunteers&nb= sp; are going the extra mile to bring in these much needed dollars.

&= nbsp;

JoEllen Meyer - KPETS volunteer, is a= pet sitter in the Lebanon area. Every year she and other pet sitters rally together in solicit donations to be given to local non-profits. Last year, the funds were split between KPETS and another organization. THIS year, all funding is coming to KPETS= !

T= he Lebanon Newspaper will be coming to Pet He= adQuarters on Tuesday, 3/8 to cover JoEllen's presentation of the check with almost $1800 to Laura Whitman, K= PETS board member. We'll get that story and post it on our website s= oon.

<= br> JoEllen! THANK YOU from the bottom = of our hearts for your efforts and dedication to KPETS' future! God Bl= ess You!

KPETS Teams to the Rescue! =

Bon Ton Community Days a Huge Success!<= /span>

Each November and February, Bon Ton stores in York, Hanover and Lancaster have their Community Day Event. Bon Ton giv= es KPETS and other non-profits coupon booklets to sell. Then the non-profit gets to keep all the sales of the booklets. But on top= of that, after all numbers are tallied, Bon Ton distributes addition= al checks to the non-profits selling above a specific number of coup= on booklets. So! Let's brag about our volunteers for Feb's sales! 3D"http://www.kpets.org/ccpics/shopping=

Hanover sold: 75 books for $375 and $82.10 in donations

York sold: 115 books for $575

Lancaster sold: 78 books for $390 and $175 in donations

The additional checks from the Bon Ton distribution are not in yet but those checks should be a few hundred dollars! ! ! This is an easy fundraiser for KP= ETS and every volunteer's efforts in the sale of these booklets is invaluable. See below to che= ck out who had fun at the malls last month!

Thanks from: Margie Smith to her Hanover helpers.<= o:p>

Hi Teams, =

We sold 75 booklets ea= rning us $375.00 in booklet sales. We will be getting $292.00 for participating on Community Day. Finally, we got $82.10 (the change came from two children) in donations. So overall, we earned $749.= 10! Thank you for all our participating teams in the Hanover area. The teams who helped with this are: Peg Snyder/T= awney, Patti Chamberlain/Pretty Girl, Carol Keffer/Lucky, Wendi Mitzel/<= span class=3DSpellE>Meeko and Bristol, Abby Mitzel/ Meeko and M= argie Smith/Beamer and McGinness.

Thank you all again for all you do!

Thanks from: Harriet Hombach to her York area help= ers!

CONGRATULATIONS to all York KPETS teams for your time, effort, patience, and salesmanshi= p, and to your sweet pets for enduring all the attention and petting= , to make our fundraising for KPETS a BIG success. Because of you, we = sold 115 coupon books for $576.00. Plus, we will be receiving a check = from Bon Ton for our share of what their employees sold. I'm expecting that check to put our total over $700.00 !! A special and sincere thanks to ; Fran Holt/Jackson, Ann Keyser/Holly, Cindy Rinehart/Haley, MaryAnne= Jousseal/Imari, Jan Ivers/Twiggy, Barbara Noll/Hunter= , Mike & Julie Garofalo/Lucy, Amy Robins= on/Imari, Harriet Hombach/Matoon and especially supporting member, Andrea Hughes. THANKS to each a= nd everyone of you.= YOU all set the standard for the best of KPETS.

Thanks to the Lancaster area helpers, too!

Taking your dog to the mall is a fun thing to do a= nd helping KPETS at the same time makes it even better. Found hanging out at Park City last month were and selling 78 books wer= e: Diane Rima/Chester, David Farmer/Diesel, Heather Meaney/Romeo, Renie Titus/Brady, Tammy Snyder/Tori,= Marjan va= n Schaik /Amber and Karen Gerth/Sammy. T= he donation jar was a hit too!

THANKS TO ALL FOR YOU TIME AND EFFORTS ! ! ! ! This is another key funing event to ensure KPETS future!

Help Wanted - make that: Help NEEDED! ! !

B= ow Wow Bingo Update =

Last month we tol= d you, Adella needs to step back from the overall responsibility for this venue. That means we desperately need folks to jump up to the challenge to follow in her footsteps.

We do have some folks rallying for the Friday night Bingos but we could use a couple more.

AND we really need someone to chair the big Bow Wow Brown Bag Bingo for Labor Day Sunday. This is our largest fundrai= ser to date so it is critical for this event to continue!=

Please, we need help! With 300 volunteers and all = the responsiblites or running the organization,= our office duties are becoming overwhelming and to add to the duties = this will be near renewal t 3D"http://www.kpets.org/ccpics/bowwowbi= ime (for 300 volutneers!). Jenny and I can't humanly kee= p up with everything. If you have experience or the passsion to help lead this event (Adella will guide from the sidelines), PLEASE let me know!

&n= bsp;

Contact Karen at k= areng@kpets.org if you'd be interested in discussing this with us. (Adella and I = will be meeting on Friday to discuss in more detail how things flow). Thank you so much for your consideration!<= /span>

KPETS Kanine Karnival<= /span>

We are still looking for folks to be on our KPETS = Kanine Karnival Kommit= tee to plan this fun summer event. It will be held Sunday, June 12, at Grater Memorial Park, Ephrata from 11-3 with our walk starting at= 11!

We learned a lot from our attempt at last year's event and we're ready to get started on making t= his years event bett= er!

We plan to kick off the event with the walk and bu= ild on it from there with vendors, info booths, speakers, demos,= a microchip clinic, etc.

If you would like to be a part of our planning committee, please contact Jenny at Konnections@kpets.org.

= K= onnect with Others 24/7 at KPETS Forum!<= o:p>

It's YOUR Forum! - by Wendi Mitzel

Are you looking for new tips, ideas for visits, various forms, others to visit with, and lots of other great pet therapy information? Whether you're a brand new volunteer o= r someone who's been with us for a while, check it out at http://= forum.kpets.org/ or go to our website and choose the Konnections Tab and click on = Forum.

The forum is a great place to:

Communicate with other KPETS teams
Get and stay konnected
Look for new places to visit
Post new places to visit
Share valuable information or suggestions with others. =
Find others to visit with
Tell others where you are visiting
Brag about your pet and therapy adventures

Anyone can post on the forum once you are a member, and we encourage everyone to begin posting! It's easy to navigate= and use! Visit requests are grouped by location. So it's simple and e= asy to find a new place to visit that's conveniently located near you! And boy do we have a lot of visit requests, and they just keep co= ming in! So check out the forum often for a new place to share your pe= t!

We are working very hard to keep things fresh and = up to date. If you have any questions or suggestions on using = the Forum, please contact Wendi (= WendiM@kpets.org). We will be glad to help and get you konnecti= ng with others!

If you are not signed up or= are having trouble getting on the KPETS Forum, please let Jenny know. Due to spammers, we have closed the open registration. We m= ust set you up manually. New volunteers will be set up upon registration completion. You will not be able to view the entire forum until you are set up and can log into it. THANKS for understanding!

BUiLDiNG Character and Unruley Stables, Lancaster

New Places to Shop - and support KPETS! ! !

&= quot;April's Going to the Dogs= "

with Lancaster's First Friday KICK-OFF!

Be sure to visit = BUi= LDiNG CHARACTER<= /span> (which is doggie friendly) Friday, April 1 or anytime through the month of April and visit the 30 shops under one roof. The shops at 342 N Queen S= treet (rear), Lancaster feature clothing, jewelry, gifts, photography, = art, home decor, furniture, antiques, collectibles, architectural salv= age and so much more. AND during April a portion of the proceeds will= be donated to KPETS!

Jenny's husband, Joey's shop = Unr= uley Stables is located there and will be donating 20% of his April sales (including cust= om orders) to KPETS! Unruley Stables fea= tures custom and unique furniture, for pets and their people. "If = you can think it, they can build it". I've got something in mind already!

For opening night, April 1, KPETS will have an info booth to help kick off the event. If you can help staff it for an hour and a half, let Jenny know. We will be there from 5 -8 pm.

Plan a special trip to visit the shops and check o= ut the local unique vendors. Wear your KPETS vest or scarf and take your pooch along for the fun.

Why all the push for $= $$ all the time ! ? !

3Dunbalancedbudget We Appreciate All YOU Do, and ...

As you know KPE= TS provides our pet therapy services free of charge to many local facilities, agencies, organizations and even private homes! In addition to that we do our best to coordinate our registered volunteers with these entities requesting our visits.<= o:p>



With now 300 volunteers, and growing, the admin duties to keep our organization going are becoming overwhelming for our two person staff. KPETS provides the recruiting, training, screening, registering, and coordination of approximately 300 volunteers to hundreds of facil= ities in PA and three other states, providing thousands for pet therapy visit hours each year. And yes, these services are FREE to the community, BUT they do come with a cost to KPETS. These thousands of hours can be provided because KPETS exists. KPETS an= nual budget is <$80,000 a year - a true bargain to community. =



Only by saving every cent for over six years, was KPETS able to get to the point of having a staff and off= ice to allow for this continued growth. But, we are very mu= ch in the RED. Our savings w= ill not last forever. To get in the black, we need to raise $6,700 a month! ! !



THIS is why we = are continually trying to raise funds. Just like so many other non-profits, times are tough. But as of now KPETS' ONLY source of funding is through fundraisers and donations and a few small gran= ts.



Please, if you = have any ideas on how to help us in this area, do contact us at the office. Jenny and I are swamped with duties to keep KPETS' servic= es going. We hate to lose focus on our mission and turn all attentio= n to raising funds, but it must be done!

3D"http://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?llr=3Dojo6ucdab&t=3D1104689679550.0.11=