You may have heard the buzz around our upcoming Grand Opening Weekend for our all new Bella Dahl Shop-In-Shop, where we'll be celebrating Oct 19-20 with giveaways, gifts with purchase and tons of other fun surprises in-store. We have several amazing partners and sponsors who are making the weekend possible, but there's one in particular which we wanted to call attention to as the organization is near and dear to our hearts: Hand in Paw. Read on to learn why we love this organization so much and are paw-sitively thrilled to partner with them for this special event.
What is Hand in Paw?
Hand in Paw is Alabama’s premier Animal-Assisted Therapy provider with a mission to provide support to people of all ages in need of physical, emotional and cognitive improvement. We all know dogs are 'man's best friend', but Hand In Paw's specially trained pups are boosting human health and well-being through volunteer-backed programs to aid with health, education, violence prevention and trauma & grief response. In other words, these are no ordinary dogs with no ordinary tasks. Hand in Paw has several programs in place to aid with various needs in the community. Catch a glimpse of how they're making waves in communities all across the state of Alabama below:
Hand in Paw Programs:
Hand in Paw's Petscription program gives medical practitioners, educators and counselors powerful tools to enhance treatment plans, promoting focus on the whole patient through compassionate, supportive care.
The Sit, Stay, Read! program tackles literacy from an emotional angle, with positive results that support a large body of research linking achievement with attitude.
Pawsitive Living and No More Bullies! are goal-directed programs utilize therapy animals to instill character and teach life skills to at-risk children and youth.
The Trauma & Grief Response program is available at no charge to schools, workplaces and other community organizations following tragic events. Our therapy teams deliver comfort, support, stress relief and a sense of normalcy as survivors process their feelings.
Where Can I Find Hand in Paw During the Grand Opening Weekend?
Hand in Paw will be on-site at our Homewood location during our VIP Launch Party Thursday night and on Saturday from 11AM-1PM with a special setup for Saturday shoppers: their puppy 'kissing booth.' Stop by their setup at Soca to snag a picture with a few of their trained furry friends and to get more information about the organization. (And yes, your own furry friends are welcome as well!) A portion of ALL Bella Dahl sales from Oct 18-20 will benefit Hand in Paw to aid with the non-profit service to our community.
How Can I Get Involved?
If you have a heart for the cause, we've got you covered with multiple ways to get involved. Hand in Paw representatives will be on-site all weekend at our Homewood location, so feel free to fire away with your questions! Hand in Paw is always looking for human volunteers to aid in training their pups, as well as four-legged volunteers of your own to sign up for the training process. If you are unable to give your time in volunteer work, simply make a Bella Dahl purchase at Soca from Oct 18-20 for a portion of proceeds to benefit Hand in Paw, or choose to donate directly to the organization by clicking here!
Many thanks to Hand in Paw for partnering with us for this exciting celebration, and we can't wait to see you there!