"Paws 4" a look back on 2016.

Dixie Landers Kimberly (with her guide Fonzie) and Laurel (with her long, white cane "Lady Liberty") speak to students attending Bark Camp.

Throughout 2016, our "Paws 2 Educate" presentations have once again reached sighted individuals of all ages. We spoke to grade school and high school students attending the ASPCA Summer Bark Camps here in Charleston, SC. We also take pride in having assisted area Girl Scouts in earning their badges relating to service animals and people with disabilities. Here, our President Audrey Gunter and guide Jessie with fellow Dixie Landers Laurel and puppy raisers Peggy and Mike Sudol pose for a picture with Girl Scouts and their leaders.

We have also enjoyed speaking to the College of Charleston Chapter of the Delta Gamma Sorority as part of this sorority's "Focus On Sight." Presentations like these allow us to offer sensitivity and awareness training to future business owners, teachers and other pillars of the community.

Another Southeast Region Top Dog Workshop will take place this coming January, 2017 in Orlando, FL. As the original founder of these unique workshops, our Dixie Land Guide Dog Users always look forward to doing our part toward planning, promoting and attending Top Dog.  We have also been asked to assist with the blessing, a highlight of Top Dog since the first workshop was held in 2006.

We are always available to answer phone calls and Emails from those who are newly blind, potential guide dog users and those who currently use guide dogs throughout the Lowcountry and beyond. Thru this network of peer support, we provide information regarding access issues and the availability of useful resources. Last spring, we were contacted by Project Okurase, an area nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the people who live in the West African village of Okurase. We met with Francis, a young boy blind from birth, who was brought to the United States for the diagnosis of his eye condition. We were able to find helpful resources for francis, including a solar powered talking Bible in his native tribal language of Ewe (pronounced "Ay-way.")

Thru our peer mentoring and advocacy, "Paws 2 Educate" and "Keeping Families Focused" initiatives, we continue to promote a positive image of our blind brothers and sisters among people of all ages, on all walks of life. Together, with your prayers and support, we can help to make this a better world for those of us who are blind or visually impaired. Thank you for joining with us as we work to promote one community at large among those with and without sight.