Community Corner
A Week to Honor Assistance Dogs; Plus Library Book Store Open
All of this can be found in and around Ellington and Somers today, August 8, 2011
1. According to Weather.com, the forecast for Somers and Ellington calls for a high of 85ºF with a 40-percent chance of scattered thunder storms. The overnight low will be 67ºF with a 50-percent chance of early thunder storms.
2. Today at Hall Memorial Library, the Friends of the Library will be running their new and used in the basement of the library. Everything from adult and children's fiction and non-fiction, CDs, DVDs, audio books and puzzles are available, ranging in price from 25-cents to $1.50. Hours are Monday evening 6:30 - 8 p.m., Thursday afternoon 2:30 - 4:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - noon, and Sunday 2 – 4 p.m. All proceeds benefit Hall Memorial Library.
3. August 7 – 13 is International Assistance Dog Week, which was created in order to recognize all the devoted, hardworking assistance dogs that are helping transform the lives of people with physical and mental disabilities. Many of these dogs are considered to be heroic, for the deeds they perform for their owners, as well as the companionship they provide as part of “the family.” For more information about International Assistance Dog Week, visit the above link. For information about assistance dogs in general, visit Assistance Dogs International, International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, and Working Like Dogs.
Find out what's happening in Ellington-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In addition, International Assistance Dog Week 2011 has a new public service announcement, which tells people about IADW, gives the dates and the website address, and shows assistance dogs in action. The 30-second public service announcement can be found at this You Tube link.
4. The popularity of assistance dogs to help children with literacy skills seems to be on the rise. Libraries routinely call in these dogs, from organizations such as R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) and Allan’s Angels, to give kids the confidence of reading aloud to a non-judgmental audience. For recent Patch articles about these dogs, visit this link about and this link about .
Find out what's happening in Ellington-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
5. The mission of Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, located in Bloomfield, is to promote increased independence to men and women who are blind by providing them with high-quality guide dogs. Fidelco offers tours of their campus on the first Tuesday of each month. These tours, called , take place from 1 to 2 p.m. If you’re interested, contact Jan Adams at 860-243-4801 or at jadams@fidelco.org.
Mark your calendars, as Saturday, October 1 is Fidelco’s annual Fall Gala and Auction, which will take place at the Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford. For details, visit www.fidelco.org.
