1 minute read
Wellbeing at De La Salle
De La Salle Primary Students Sponsor a
Seeing Eye Dog Australia (Seda) Puppy Named “River”
In Term 3 we invited representatives from SEDA to speak to our primary students about the marvellous support dogs, trained by SEDA, give to those who are vision impaired. Mr Paul Rodgers, coordinator of the ‘Sponsor a Puppy’ Program, was accompanied by Steve and his dog Sage to our first meeting. Sage had gone through the many phases of training conducted at SEDA. Steve has had Sage for two years, and it was an insight for our students to hear from Paul and Steve of the many ways SEDA- trained dogs assist those who are vision impaired. Paul told the boys that each dog must learn 30 commands. After the initial meeting, we formed a Committee of two representatives from each Primary grade, and commenced our sponsorship of River. Our first fundraising effort was a sausage sizzle which raised $350. This was a marvellous effort, and we were grateful to have the support of the Year 9 leaders who helped the primaries man the barbecues. In Term 4 we invited Paul and Steve back to the College to hand them our first cheque from the fundraising effort. We were delighted to meet puppy River, a Golden Retriever. This meeting brought much joy to our primary students. The sponsorship of a SEDA puppy will be ongoing and, as our students move through their primary years, we hope that we can make a considerable difference to someone’s life by helping fund the training and feeding of puppies such as River. Each term, the primaries will receive a letter from SEDA with a photograph, informing students how River’s training is progressing. The enthusiasm from the De La Salle College primary students has been fantastic. We look forward to a long association with Seeing Eye Dog Australia and River.
Mr Ray Leetham Primary Coordinator Mrs Joy Bew Coordinator DLS Sponsorship Program
