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Step into the world of a special therapy dog...
They say a dog is man's best friend, but in this case it's a matter of a dog being kid's best friend. Meet Riley. He's a registered therapy dog and a furry staff member at the two Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center (ECCAC) in Niceville and DeFuniak Springs. Riley has earned the highest designation for a therapy dog known as the American Kennel Club's (AKC) Distinguished Therapy Dog, or THDD. This means Riley has completed 400 therapy visits with kids dealing with abusive situations. Therapy dogs who have earned the AKC Therapy Dog
™
title are not service dogs, they are dogs who go with their owners to volunteer in settings such as schools, hospitals and nursing homes. From working with a child to visiting a senior, therapy dogs help improve the lives of others.
An energetic but controlled and extremely observant 11-year old Maltese, Riley sits in on group sessions in the Center in Niceville and is also prescribed for individual therapy. He helps the kids learn self-confidence and the kids teach him tricks. In group sessions, he often instinctively sits in front of the child who feels the worst. Around the Center, Riley wanders into an office to visit staff and seems to know when they are having a particularly challenging day. In fact, according to the therapists, kids will tell Riley things they won't tell them. The kids will say, "I'll tell Riley, you can listen if you want."
Riley has a younger adopted brother named Cody who is going through therapy dog training to follow in his big brother's footsteps. Jacqui Broadus, a Mental Health Therapist and Registered Pet Partners Therapist at the Center, works closely with Riley, Cody and the kids. The upbeat Broadus commented, "I became a Registered Pet Partners Team with Riley in 2010, which means I completed a handler's course and then trained with Riley. Together, we passed an obedience evaluation. The main focus is for handlers to develop a powerful bond with their therapy dog, and we have done that for sure! Both Riley and Cody are an integral part of our team at ECCAC."
"We see the most egregious cases-child sex, physical abuse, drug endangerment, and domestic violence exposure. Ninety percent are abused by someone they know" said the Center's CEO, Julie Hurst. "I can't even begin to express how important Riley and Cody, as well as our two other therapy dog retrievers, Annabelle and Jazzy, have been to our kids in their journey to recovery and restoring their lives."
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The Emerald Coast Harley Owners Group (HOG) Chapter #3605, sponsored by Emerald Coast Harley Davidson, will be doing their 37th Annual Toys 4 Tots Motorcycle Run on Sunday, November 13. Proceeds will benefit the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center and Children in Crisis. All motorcycles are welcome to participate in the Run. Entry fee is $10 per participant and a new toy or gift card. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. at Sam's Club parking lot in Ft. Walton Beach. The motorcycle parade starts at 11 a.m. from Sam's Club and ends at the Niceville Mullet Festival site. Don't own a motorcycle? You can still help. Join everyone at the Mullet Festival site with a toy donation, or drop it off at the Toy Box located at the Emerald Coast Harley Davidson dealership at 788 Beal Parkway in Ft. Walton Beach. Donations can also be given to any of the HOG chapter members
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Adopt A Family
It's not too early to start planning for this year's Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center (ECCAC) Adopt-a-Family program to help children in need over the upcoming Holiday season. ECCAC is seeking donors who will purchase gifts for individual families who have been identified by the Center. Last year, the program helped over 300 children in 125 families have a brighter Christmas. Unable to adopt this year? Monetary donations are also needed to assist with additional costs of this program. For more info or to sign up for Adopt-a-Family on-line at www.eccac.org. Or, contact Kim Henderson at [email protected], (850) 833-9237, Extension 283 to make arrangements.
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Festival of Trees in Grand Boulevard
Festival of Trees held annually in Grand Park, showcases uniquely decorated Christmas trees from area non-profits. The trees debut the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and remain in the park through Christmas for the public to enjoy and learn more about the missions of these organizations. Come out and vote for the ECCAC tree and help us win a donation! Trees will be judged November 22 from 4-6 p.m. and everyone can vote. Awards given out that night, come show your support!
Volunteer opportunities are also available for this event.
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Niceville Christmas Parade
The Niceville-Valparaiso Rotary Club invites the community to participate in the 2016 Community Christmas Parade to be held on Saturday, December 3, 2016, beginning at 10 a.m. Participants are encouraged to reflect the parade theme, "Christmas Shared with Children from Around the World." The ECCAC will have a float. Come see us! Volunteer opportunities also available.
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2nd Annual ECCAC Telethon
30A Television is partnering with the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center to bring a new avenue of fundraising to the Panhandle of Florida. The 2nd Annual ECCAC Telethon will be held Thursday, December 1st from 6-9pm at Whiskey Bravo in Santa Rosa Beach. In addition to the telethon, a special dinner will also be
held with proceeds benefitting ECCAC.
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November is another busy month filled with lots of volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in any of the opportunities below or have questions, please email [email protected] or call (850) 833-9237 ext. 256. We could not do what we do without help from our fabulous volunteers.
37th Annual Toys 4 Tots Ride
The Emerald Coast Harley Davidson Owners Group (HOG) is having their 37th Annual Toys 4 Tots Ride on Sunday, November 13th. All volunteer shifts are located at the Mullet Fest site in Niceville.
Set up - 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Parking - 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Selling Drinks (2 shifts) - 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM and 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Hi-Low Games (2 shifts) - 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM and 12:30-3:30 PM
Sparkling Wine and Holiday Lights
The Sparkling Wine and Holiday Lights Festival will be held at Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin on Saturday, November 19th. Shifts include:
Scanning tickets, checking ID's, and putting on armbands from 3-5:30 PM
Pouring from 3-6:30 PM
Runners from 4:00-6:00 PM
Clean Up from 5:30-7:00 PM
If you enjoy volunteering at Wine or Beer Fest, you will love this. A calmer evening under the stars, and the Christmas lights are lit for the first time.
Festival of Trees
Held each year at Grand Boulevard, the Festival of Trees is fun tree decorating competition that allows ECCAC to spread the word on what we do. Volunteers are needed to decorate our tree on Sunday, November 20th from 9am until 12pm at Grand Boulevard.
Breakfast with Santa
Two volunteers needed to help each day from 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. with crafts table.
Tuesday Nov 29 at the Walton County Health Dept. at 362 State Hwy. 83 in DeFuniak Springs
and
Thursday Dec 1 at the Walton County Health Dept. Coastal location at 361 Green Way Trail in Santa Rosa Beach.
Niceville Christmas Parade
Volunteers are needed to help decorate our float for the Niceville Christmas Parade. Decorations will be made and the float assembled Friday Dec 2 at the Niceville Center (401 McEwen Dr) All decoration volunteers are invited to walk in the parade.
Adopt-A-Family Gift Drop
Volunteers are needed to assist with the gift drop off and calling families to pick up gifts on the following days, times and locations.
Niceville (401 McEwen Dr) - Nov 30, Dec 2, 6, 9 from 1pm to 4pm
Pierce Family Center in DeFuniak Springs (336 College Ave) - Dec 2, 9 from 1pm to 4pm
Children's Christmas Party
Volunteers are needed to help with set up, decorations and Children's Christmas Party. Dates include...
December 9th at Pierce Family Center in DeFuniak Springs (336 College Ave). Three volunteers are needed from 2-5 p.m. to set up and from 4 - 7:30 p.m. to help pass out gifts, serve food and clean up.
December 10th at Crosspoint Church in Niceville.
Five volunteers are needed from 8 - 11 a.m. to set up and from 10 - 1:30 p.m. to help pass out gifts, serve food and clean up.
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The ECCAC is now accepting donations of the following items...
PJs needed - A new pair of pjs is given to each of our kids that attend our Children's Christmas Party in December and we need your help in collecting these. We need all sizes, boys and girls.
Candy needed - Volunteers are hard at work on the float for the Niceville Christmas parade and candy will be needed to throw.
Sponsorships Available
We have a number of events coming up that need sponsorship including:
2nd Annual Telethon - 30A Television is partnering with the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center to bring a new avenue of fundraising to the Panhandle of Florida. The 2nd Annual ECCAC Telethon will be held Thursday, December 1st from 6-9pm at Whiskey Bravo in Santa Rosa Beach. It will consist of coverage and interviews pertaining to the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center, entertaining guests, and the opportunity to phone in live on set and donate to the fundraiser. To become a part of this up and coming event, please contact Kim Henderson, ECCAC Director of Development at 850-833-9237 x283 or [email protected]. Several sponsorships are currently available. Click
here to get the details.
Items can be dropped off at either location OR or contact [email protected] or (850) 833-9237 ext. 256 to arrange for pickup.
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2nd Annual Wiggin' Out For A Cause
Thank you to the businesses, guests and volunteers who helped make our 2nd Annual Wiggin Out For A Cause such a success. Thanks to your help we were able to raise $10,000 for the ECCAC efforts.
Destin Charity Cornhole Tournament
Congratulations to "I'd Hit That", the winners of the inaugural Destin Charity Cornhole Tournament that raised over $4,000 for the ECCAC. Big thanks to all the cornhole board artists, Destin Commons and Cumulus Media for making this event a success.
Thank you to Mark and Kim, owners of Crust Artisan Bakery and Mike and Val Thompson for a fabulous dinner. Seating was auctioned off at our March Gala. Diners enjoyed a fabulous feast of fresh made Italian foods while Mike served each diner various wines to go with each of the menu choices. A fabulous time was had by all while raising $11,000 for ECCAC.
The ECCAC staff delivered Halloween goodies to our local law enforcement this past week to thank them for all they do.
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November Fresh Baked Sponsor
Sandestin Wine Festival
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See what's happening on our social sites:
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