2018 ASTC Charitable Trust Donations

Shellie and Burton Goldstein's organization, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, received a special award for their work. They wrote about their training and experiences with this organization in another article on this website Click Here. The ASTC Charitable Trust has just donated $3,000 to HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, $2,000 to Hemopet, $2,000 to AKC Reunite Disaster Fund, $2,500 to AKC Canine Health Foundation for Dry Eye Research, $2,500 to The AKC Museum of the Dog and $2,500 to the Canine Health Foundation. The ASTC Charitable Trust also received $1,419.99 from the Purina Parent Club Partnership; an equal amount was donated to the Canine Health Foundation to be used for research benefitting Shih Tzu.

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Shellie and I, with Emma and the Bear, have long provided pet therapy services whenever and where ever we can. Further training and experience has allowed us to provide animal-assisted crisis response services during disasters.

The national organization that we work through maintains a policy of no self-deployment. Instead we build relationships with similar organizations, that hopefully will call us in when they are deployed.

To that end, most of us belong to umbrella bodies that facilitate the premise that it is best to not wait to hand out your business cards at the disaster. Based on the four C's of cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration, the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, include governmental agencies as well as public/private organizations.

At this years annual conference, attended by over six hundred companies, such as our sponsors UPS, Walmart, Home Depot, government agencies from FEMA to emergency management agencies and specialists in every geographic area, to the likes of the United Way, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and every faith-based group.

During a year with countless hurricanes, terrible storms, floods, wild fires, etc., we were truly awarded when our organization, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis-Response was the recipients of the National Member of the Year Award.

If you know us, you might recall our involvement in: FEMAs National Resource Coordination Center during the hurricanes, flooding in West Virginia and in Ellicott City, tornado on the Eastern Shore, various support activities at the Washington Navy Yard, Operation Purple, Yellow Ribbon, Burn and Forget-Me-Not camps, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, on and on.

We feel privileged to have the opportunity to offer our services. To be recognized for doing that is an even greater honor.

Burton Goldstein