July 2011

CHAMPS Donor Trip to Sri Lanka!

For a wonderful week of adventuring, CHAMPS student leaders and teachers from around the US gathered together to explore Sri Lanka! During the week of July 24 - 30, Jessica Posthelthwaite from the CHAMPS TX - 7 Lakes High School Campaign, Billy Furay from the CHAMPS TX - The Woodlands High School Campaign, and Nicholas Towles and Rebecca Long from the CHAMPS PA - Wister Elementary School/Philadelphia Eagles Campaign enjoyed the hospitality of this beautiful country with other members of the MLI Donor Delegation.

Their travels took them to meet the Secretary of Defense, to the minefields to watch demining efforts, to meeting the dogs who have recently arrived to complete their training. Meeting with members of the United States Embassy, visiting the Elephan Orphanage in Pinnawala to touring a tea factory in the High Tea Country; there was never a dull moment for the group. Delicious food, warm and inviting people and lush beautiful countryside surrounded them for the entire week. More pictures of this exciting trip will soon be posted.

Jessica Posthelthwaite of the CHAMPS 7-Lakes Texas campaign poses with Sparticus, MDD at the 2011 Donor trip to Sri Lanka.

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August 2011

CHAMPS Canine Ambassador turns 12!

CHAMPS canine Ambassador, Utsi, turned 12 years old on August 12, 2011. She happily enjoyed her grilled chicken breast which is her traditional birthday dinner!

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The smell of success

JEFF FITLOW

Utsi, a Belgian Malinois that serves as the canine ambassador for Children Against Mines Program (CHAMPS), demonstrates how she sniffs out explosive odors during a minefield simulation near Sewall Hall. CHAMPS Director Kimberly McCasland conducted the demonstration for world and human geography teachers attending the 16th annual Advanced Placement Summer Institute administered by Rice's Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. The institute brings thousands of teachers from all over the U.S. and other countries to campus to improve their classroom skills.
-Rice University Article

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October 2010

CHAMPS Eagles/Wister officially Kicks-off October 25th!

CHAMPS Eagles/Wister Campaign will officially kick-off at the Wister Elementary School in Philadelphia, PA on October 25th, (which is also my Birthday!) What a wonderful way to spend a birthday!!! NFL Team Philadelphia Eagles will join forces with the Wister Elementary School to sponsor a lifesaving Mine Detection Dog whose name has yet to be selected by the students.

Susan Hollier receives the Joan Wismer CHAMPS Award!

CHAMPS Teacher Susan Hollier of The Woodlands High School will receive the Joan Wismer CHAMPS Award on October 20th in Washington, D.C., at MLI's Annual Clearing the Path Gala this year.

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September 2010

News from the Middle East!

I've just returned from the Middle East and hit several countries. Most important was my meeting on September 4th with IMCO (Iraq Mine and UXO Clearance Organization) Director Mr. Zahim Mutar while in Jordan to discuss our new partnership for the Basra, Iraq area.

MLI's new CHAMPS International - Iraq project will partner with IMCO. Ms. Gheidaa works for IMCO and will be the new CHAMPS Iraq Manager for this program. I met with her while in Basra, Iraq, setting up the new program. She is wonderful and I think her experience with landmine survivors, and her obvious desire to help her people, makes her perfect for this job! I was very impressed with how much she knew about the some 3,000+ survivors that live in the Basra area alone.

Our first trial Video-conference is September 27th at 5:00 am US time! I'll be doing it with Ms. Gheidaa (12:00 noon Iraqi time).

The Woodlands High School, The Woodlands, Texas (just north of Houston) will be the first school to work on this project, and is officially the first school in the world to help the people of Basra, Iraq. MLI is the first NGO to partner with a national NGO to help the Basra area. Mrs. Susan Hollier is the CHAMPS Teacher that lead the school to sponsoring their dog Texas who will deploy to the IMCO southern HQ in Basra within the next 2-weeks!!!

The Woodlands HS has already raised over $5,000 for the CHAMPS International Iraq project!!

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September 20, 2010

So many things going on in TEXAS!

I've just returned from the Middle East and gone directly to Houston to meet up with the new CHAMPS Manager Tamara Klingsheim.

On September 20th the CHAMPS Team and Global Training Academy owner Dan Hayter introduced MDD Texas to the students at The Woodlands High School that sponsored him. The Team also visited the Hauser Elementary School and went to officially kick off the CHAMPS Mitchell Campaign at the Mitchell Intermediate School in The Woodlands, TX.

Texas showed off his 'sniffing' skills by performing two "simulated" minefield demonstrations for a total of over 1,200 students at Mitchell!!!

MDD Texas was supposed to deploy to Basra, Iraq with three other canine buddies on September 21, but, because of heat issues, will remain in Texas until the first week of October!

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September 13-18, 2010

MLI's Donor Delegation travels to Lebanon !

MLI's Donor Delegation traveled to Lebanon from September 13-18, hosted by the LMAC (Lebanese Mine Action Center). During our trip we visited a minefield that was being worked by CHAMPS dogs Nutmeg from Connecticut, and Champlain from the Girl Scout Campaign in Vermont!

Just 200 - 300 yards away from this minefield lives a Bedouin Family who lives in a tent and tends it's some 500 goats and sheep. The minefield was well marked, but just last year a friends donkey was killed when it accidentally wandered into the minefield. By October 1st the entire area should be cleared and returned back to the people of Lebanon for productive use!

CHAMPS Patron Joan Wismer was proud when she met her dog Joan (Joanie) and especially bonded with her dogs handler!

The group visited beautiful ruins near the Southern Lebanon city of Tyr and participated in a Mine Risk Education (MRE) event at an elementary school in Tyr as well.

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June 11, 2010

CHAMPS Woodlands Team Prevails!

On Friday, June 11th, the CHAMPS Texas - The Woodlands Team traveled to Somerset, Texas to the Training Facility of Global Training Academy.

The Woodlands High School suffered a devestating set-back on April 24th at the end of their first fundraiser the Laps for Lives. While incredibly successful, raising more than $9,000 on this single day, they were robbed at the end of the event and everything was lost, never to be found.

The Houston media was quick to step in to help. The CHAMPS team, consisting of both the schools Interact Club and their CIA (Council for International Affairs) Club, reached out to other schools, participated in TV and newspaper interviews, and with true Texas spirit continued on with their Campaign to sponsor a dog they would name Texas.

With help from Houston's Mix 96.5 radio-station, Channel 13, the Houston Courier and the entire Houston area community the CHAMPS Team raised a whopping $25,000 by the first week of June. And, by the second week of June actually traveled to Global to select their dog!!

Keep in mind...this is a rarity and has only happened twice before. The team met 4 dogs who were training to be deployed to Iraq. Of the four dogs they selected this beautiful male Belgian Malinois...his name is Texas.

< Read a news article about them here >

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April 30, 2010

CHAMPS needs your help!

 

The kids in CHAMPS TX at the Woodlands H.S. had all their money from their fundraising event stolen. Nearly $9000 was taken and the kids are devastated.

CHAMPS supporters need to step up to the plate and donate what you can to help the Woodland High School students reach their goal of getting a mine detection dog.

Radio stations and the TX surrounding communities are trying to re-raise the money on behalf of the kids - but we'd love any support!

Thanks!

Please enter your donation amount: (Example - 10.00)

$

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February 25, 2010

Another partnership has formed!

GO EAGLES!!

Today Utsi paid a visit to two of the Fifth Grade classes at the Wister Elementary School in Philadelphia, PA to introduce them to the CHAMPS Program. The students had a sneak preview at what the whole school will see in September at the official launch of their campaign for a MDD.

Invited by the Principal, Donna Smith, the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership, Sarah Martinez-Helfman was also present for the presentations. It was decided that the students of Wister Elementary and the Philadelphia Eagles Football Team will work together to sponsor the very first CHAMPS MDD for the state of Pennsylvania. The Eagles are the first NFL team to work with CHAMPS and The Marshall Legacy Institute.

Keep checking back for new blogs about the Wister/Eagles campaign!

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February 16, 2010

Here's a little tidbit about what's currently going on with CHAMPS...

The CHAMPS Team is preparing for a very exciting trip to Houston, TX next week. The team will be visiting Susan Hollier at The Woodlands HS in The Woodlands and Brittany Brown at Kempner HS in Sugar Land. If you remember, Susan is the teacher that invited CHAMPS to speak at her summer AP teacher seminars this past summer. That is where we met Brittany Brown. Utsi and Brittany instantly formed a unique bond, in a way that we haven’t seen since Utsi met Shelby Patrick at the Glenelg Country School, and both are excited about seeing each other again.

During the course of the three day trip to Houston, the CHAMPS Team will be presenting to over 600 students, including the Interact Clubs at both schools, the Achievers International/Global Enterprise Challenge Club, and the Council of International Affairs.

Kimberly is also planning presentations at the Rotary Clubs in The Woodlands and Sugar Land areas while in Texas. Just recently, Kimberly joined the Rotary Club near her home in Georgia. While Kimberly works hard at helping countries around the world, she wanted to help more in her community and around the United States.

NEW CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Southwest Christian Academy in Fort Worth, TX is running a campaign for a dog, not yet named.

Seminole Middle School in Plantation, FL is running a campaign for a dog, not yet named. The CHAMPS Team will be visiting the school to kick off the campaign March 22nd. Emma Rose is the student leader.

 

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February 15, 2010

Hi All -

I received an e-mail and pictures that I wanted to share. It was sent to me from the parent of some of our student leaders in New Hampshire, Mrs. Beth Scanlon. Beth and her daughters, Bianca and Michaela, have been working with CHAMPS for about 4 years now. Together they have hosted many fundraisers, to include Kingston’s annual Strut Your Mutt event.

-Kimberly McCasland, CHAMPS Director

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This is one of the e-mails that Beth wrote to update her CHAMPS Supporters and friends:

Good morning all,

I was thrilled to receive these updated pictures of "Granite ," our mine sniffing German Shephard over in Bosnia-Herzgovinia.    It will be 5 years next month that we have been involved with the Marshall Legacy Institute's CHildren Against Mines Program.   Since then we have sponsored one dog and a prosthetic leg, twice, for Kemal Karic, a landmine survivor outside Sarajevo.  But more importantly, we have spread landmine education amongst our community!
 
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About Granite  ... he is now with Eko Dem, a   NGO from Banja Luka, northern from Sarajevo .  Attached is a photo of him and his new handler, Ostoja.     He looks great, as you can see,  he had a little conditioning training and  the MDDC  (Mine Dog Detection Center)  trainer was happy with him and his working shape. I  am told Granite has a lot to give for many years to come!  
 
Granite had been with Stop Mines, a NGO (non governmental organization) Northeast of Sarajevo.  Each organization bids jobs for demining.  Stop Mines did not have enough work to keep all the dogs working on a regular basis.  So two of the dogs that were donated by the Marshall Legacy Institute's CHAMPS program were re-deployed.  But as you heard, first they make sure the dogs are in tip top condition and re-certified before they go back into the fields de-mining.
 
Please share the pictures with friends and supporters of CHAMPS. There is always new information on the websites for MLI www.marshal-legacy.org or www.CHAMPSkids.org  about the progress of demining and new educational programs.   
 
At present, CHAMPS New Hampshire is participating in a webcam conference at the Sanborn Regional Middle School with students from the Osman Nakas School outside Sarajevo, BiH. Also, we are looking forward to webcam connections with Afghanistan for SRMS and Exeter High School.   If you are interested in learning more or would like to start your own campaign, please let us know how we can help!
 
Thank you for all your past and present support of the Marshall Legacy Institute's CHildren Against Mines Program and CHAMPS International.  Together we have helped change the lives of those folks and animals in the midst of landmines!  One last thing, April 4 is International Mine and Survivor Awareness Day, please be on the look out for upcoming programs.
 
Kind Regards,
 
Beth Ann Scanlon 

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December 01, 2009

Joan Wismer CHAMPS Award

Kirsten Parkinson, Greenwich, CT traveled to Washington, D.C. where she was awarded the Joan Wismer CHAMPS Award at MLI's annual "Clearing the Path" Gala at the Four-Seasons Hotel in Georgetown.

Kirsten, working with her school the Greenwich Country Day School, worked to sponsor a dog she named "Nutmeg" who is now serving in Lebanon. After achieving this incredible goal Kirsten decided to run another Campaign to support CHAMPS International to sponsor a young landmine survivor in Lebanon.
Kirsten will kick-off this Campaign in Greenwich at the YMCA sponsored "Dive-A-Thon" on January 23rd! The CHAMPS Team will be there to support these efforts and root Kirsten on!!

In the meantime, please click here for an article

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September 21, 2009

Champs dog selected as mine detection dog team of the year!

Champs MDD Stitch, sponsored by the Michael Lazar Family of Vermont, competed with mine detection dogs around the world for the coveted MLI “Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year” award. This is the first champs dog to be nominated and selected for this prestigious award to be presented at the annual Clearing the Path Gala on October 21, 2009 in Georgetown, Washington DC. The Lazar Family will travel to Washington to attend the gala and celebrate this wonderful occasion.

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September 14, 2009

Student Leader Shelby Patrick Returns!

CHAMPS student leader Shelby Patrick, CHAMPS Maryland-Glenelg Country Day School campaign, traveled to the Balkans as part of an MLI donor delegation. Over an 8 day period Shelby met the American Ambassador to Bosnia, the President of Bosnia, young landmine survivors, and traveled to Konjic to the Mine Detection Dog Center (MDDC) where 13 of the 17 CHAMPS dogs have been trained. Shelby, accompanied by her mother Susan Patrick, visited Bosnia and Slovenia learning more about mine action, helping landmine survivors, and saw the fruit of her labors on this important trip. Comments from Shelby about her trip will be coming soon.

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August 28, 2009

Upcoming Donor trip to Bosnia and Slovenia!

It’s almost time for the CHAMPS/MLI Annual Donor Trip to Bosnia and Slovenia on September 12, 2009. Each year a student leader from the previous school year’s campaigns is selected to accompany the team on their trip. This year’s student leader is Shelby Patrick from The Glenelg Country Day School in Ellicott City, Maryland. Shelby brought CHAMPS to her school and worked very hard to support CHAMPS International-Afghanistan earlier this spring helping young landmine survivors in Afghanistan.

Here is a list of the exciting things Shelby will be doing on her trip:

She will:

- Meet and be congratulated by the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina for her work with CHAMPS and CHAMPS International

- Meet the American Ambassador to Bosnia.

- See Mine Detection Dogs (MDD's) working in a minefield in Bosnia and meet villagers whose village was cleared by MDD's and demining teams last year.

- Visit the Mine Detection Dog Center (MDDC) in Konjic, Bosnia. 80% of the CHAMPS dogs have been trained at this facility that was funded by the US Department of State and trained by Global Training Academy of Somerset, Texas.

- Visit Pro-Vita, a Bosnian NGO (Non-Government Organization) that has many MLI and CHAMPS dogs who are working to clear Bosnia of landmines.

- Meet young landmine survivors helped by CHAMPS International - Bosnia.

- Visit a Landmine Victim's Ward at a rehabilitation hospital in Slovenia and MUCH MUCH MORE!!!

Thank you Shelby and The Glenelg Country Day School for all of your hard work!

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August 27, 2009

BIG NEWS!

This week marks the start of a new campaign. It is our very first CHAMPS campaign for the state of Florida. The campaign is being run by a 7th grader from the Seminole Middle School in Plantation, Florida. This young lady, Emma Rose, saw a presentation and demonstration given by the CHAMPS team at the South Plantation High School last school year and was so moved by the global landmine problem that she decided to take action.

While most kids were on vacation, going to water parks, playing and having fun over the summer, Emma was organizing her campaign. With the help of Emma’s best friend, Emily McLaughlin, she got in contact with her Advanced Geography teacher, Mr. Jon Gurian, who teaches grades 6-8 at Seminole Middle School, to help support her in her efforts. The girls contacted the principal of their school and the local Elementary School and got both schools to commit to a K9 walk fundraiser for this October. Along with the walk the girls have scheduled several other fundraisers for the upcoming school year. The CHAMPS team will be visiting the girls and both schools very soon to kick off their campaign.

With the dedication and enthusiasm that Emma has shown so far the CHAMPS team is confident that her campaign will be a huge success. Good Luck Emma and Emily!

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August 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Utsi!

Our hero dog Utsi turned 10 years old today (that is 70 in dog years!). Utsi was born in the Netherlands and began training for her demining career right away. After her training was complete, Utsi was sent to Eritrea, Africa to work at sniffing out mines, saving lives and giving the land back to the people. She worked in Africa for 5 years clearing 1.5 million square meters of land.

Utsi “semi-retired” from her job of demining fields in August 2006 and went straight to San Jose, California to give a demining presentation and begin her work with CHAMPS. She is currently working with the CHAMPS team to educate and raise general awareness about the landmine issue across the United States by giving demonstrations on how she finds and identifies landmines.

Utsi lives with our CHAMPS Director Kimberly McCasland and her daughter, who is also the CHAMPS Assistant, Rachel. How did Utsi celebrate her big 10 year birthday? Utsi got a little bit of grilled chicken with her dinner and lounged around the house all day, enjoying her “semi-retirement”.

Thank you Utsi for all of your hard work and dedication!

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june 2009

Hi all - I received this WONDERFUL article which was printed in the Glenelg Country school newsletter this month and wanted to share it with all of you. Enjoy!!

-Kimberly

To Fly a Kite

“My kite caught an upward breeze and blew off. I stood and watched it with Omar, who laughed as it flew away to a world where children can play and families can eat and kites don’t have to hide under rugs.”
-- From The Secret Kite

Deborah Ellis’ moving story, The Secret Kite, narrated by a boy named Mustafa, takes place in Afghanistan, where the Taliban, a group of religious extremists, have prohibited many activities both Afghanis and Americans enjoy. These include flying kites, listening to music, and even most types of reading. In early May, the GCS Lower School initiated Kite Day, an occasion at which teachers flew traditional Afghan kites while all students in the Lower School, like Omar in The Secret Kite, stood, their faces lifted skyward, and watched these triangular paper wonders soar. “The kites were amazing to watch,” commented Yianni Karabatis, a GCS fourth grader. Unlike the children in the story, our students had nothing to hide or fear as the kites danced overhead.

In fact, the activity was in celebration of freedoms easily taken for granted, and in honor of all the children and adults in Afghanistan who can no longer enjoy kite flying, a national pastime that had been very popular in a more peaceful era. GCS teachers and students were remarkably fortunate to have the family of the Lower School’s own Ms. Linar Etemadi, a beloved fourth grade teacher, tell them all about the kites. “Kite fighting,” as students and teachers learned, involved flying two “dueling” kites equipped with extremely sharp, glass-coated strings. Whoever managed to cut their opponent’s kite string would win. Ashraf Etemadi, Ms. Etemadi’s father, and his two sons, Ahmad Shah and Mohammad Seraj, planned to demonstrate this, but alas, the weather did not cooperate. Though students did not get to fly kites, seeing the kites and hearing about the Afghani tradition made for a memorable afternoon, complete with learning that extended beyond textbooks and maps.

In addition to the colorful Kite Day, many other strong efforts within the Lower School this year served to connect GCS students with the people of Afghanistan. This work held special meaning for students during a troubled time, when our troops are deployed in the war-torn nation. In the spring, an inspiring connection emerged between some students attending a high school in Afghanistan and a group of GCS fourth and fifth graders. The students used Skype, a web-based program which works much like a phone, with the added feature of showing the faces of the conversants via computer screen. Under the leadership of Ms. Etemadi and Lower School computer science teacher Janice Newell, GCS was able to communicate with the all-boys’

Roshan High School in Afghanistan. This once-in-a-lifetime exchange gave GCS fourth and fifth graders a chance to step into the shoes of their peers on the other side of the world. Before the communications began, however, GCS students learned a bit of Persian, to better greet their new friends. Of course, Ms. Etemadi and her friend Akmal Ghafori, a Roshan High School teacher, had to do quite a bit of translating anyway! Later, when conversation slowed after an exchange about the weather, smiles between the groups spoke louder than words. Ms. Etemadi then asked the Afghan students what items they would like for GCS students to send them in a gift basket. In keeping with typical Afghan tradition, the boys humbly replied, “Your happiness is our gift.” She pleaded with them once more for an answer, and their earnest response was, “We are thirsty for peace.” “Those piercing words haunt me every day. It is an honor to be part of this amazing, once in a lifetime project. Together we are making history, building bridges across the world, and quenching the thirst of my beloved people,” she replied.

The students’ exploration of Afghani culture would not be complete without some fine dining! GCS boasts a long tradition of exploring cuisine from around the world to help students understand the multitude of the global cultures around them. The fourth grade’s International Bazaar, and the many special feasts and treats shared in French and Spanish classes are much-beloved examples. Ms. Etemadi and her family, particularly her mother, Marie Etemadi, built on this custom by serving a traditional Afghan Tea after Kite Day, complete with soothing green tea and mouth-watering cinnamon and pistachio “elephant ears” (crisp wafers shaped like the ears of an elephant) topped with powdered sugar. No matter what life experiences might separate us, no matter how many miles lie between us, powdered sugar is a language American and Afghani children can easily share!

But GCS students soon realized there were more difficult lessons to learn about Afghanistan, as well. In The Secret Kite, a boy named Ghulam has only one leg. He represents one of the estimated 400,000 Afghani civilians who have been killed or crippled by senseless land mine accidents. What can a group of school children do to help? In actuality, it only took one school child to start the wheels turning. GCS fifth grader Shelby Patrick was troubled by the dangerous presence of land mines throughout many parts of Afghanistan. Shelby acted on this thought and, with the help of her father, wrote a letter to the Head of the Lower School, Anne Wooleyhand, requesting a “tag day” fundraiser to support an organization called the CHildren Against Mines Program, or CHAMPS. The organization trains dogs, mainly German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, to sniff out land mines which would be unnoticeable to human workers. The dogs can detect actual explosives, instead of just metal, and are a superior way of finding these hidden killers. Working with their handlers, demining dogs speed up the mine searching process tenfold; that means saving ten times more lives.
“I think the best thing about the [Afghan/GCS] program is that it has opened a door for students to learn about land mines and other such issues and how they affect children their age,” Mrs. Wooleyhand, later remarked.

In April of 2008, the children were visited by Utsi, an experienced retired demining dog, and her handler Mrs. Kimberly McCasland. Together, they demonstrated how the mine-detecting process works, and how the dog is kept reasonably safe. Students also learned about the mines themselves, and the fear and destruction they cause in many countries throughout the world. Thanks to Shelby, GCS was able to raise enough money to support a land mine detection dog. Dragon, as he was appropriately named, is now stationed in Afghanistan, saving lives every day. Knowing they had made a real difference in a real problem, the students celebrated by inviting Utsi back to school to visit during the Afghani Tea. As Shelby herself intoned, “It’s really great [that we were able to fund Dragon] because I know that he’s saving lives, and that’s really cool.”
Inspired as they learned, the students also raised over $500 toward the purchase of prosthetics, crutches, and other materials to help land mine victims in their everyday lives. In addition, the GCS community, lead again by Ms. Etemadi, put together several gift baskets to send to Afghanistan. Ms. Etemadi assures us that she intends to send many more baskets in the future, possibly containing toys and sports equipment as the effort continues. Also slated to continue throughout the years are Kite Day, the Afghan Tea, and communications with Roshan High School.

Kites are magical to children because they seem to fly without effort. In reality, they must be launched before the wind can take them up. Through the GCS/ Afghanistan exchange, students learned that launching an idea, an effort, or a solution is not that difficult. Once launched, the idea might take flight, carried on the winds of community and human connection, and soar higher than ever imagined. Even in the face of seemingly unsurpassable forces such as war and oppression, young people can still strive to understand and make a difference. They can reach out and talk to strangers in need, smile, and ask their names. In the 2008-09 school year GCS launched a kite for Afghanistan – and for America. With continued effort and commitment, we can watch that kite fly high, and proudly launch countless more.

***Taylor Feld is a rising sixth grader at GCS. She wants you to know that Afghanistan is just one of the more than 70 countries across the globe affected by land mines, and many more dogs are needed. To learn how you can help, please visit www.champskids.org.

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February 2009

Greetings from Lebanon,

 

I took many pictures this last week, of beautiful dogs who were donated to Lebanon by the donors of The Marshall Legacy Institute, four (4) of which are CHAMPS Dogs. 

But there is  one picture that I took, that when going through all of them has hit home the very most.  I took it next to a school.  A school in a community that if you should stop and ask at any shop, or any stranger walking by…”Where is the field that has landmines?”…you will be told as I was “They are everywhere.”

The school is one that is located in the middle of town, one that children walk to everyday…and not four steps from this school is an active minefield.  The Lebanese Mine Action Center (LMAC) has started clearing many of these fields, but there is much work to do for there are many of these fields throughout the town.

I wanted to share this picture with all of you.  It’s simple, but it’s my favorite from this trip. 

Warmest,

Kimberly 

 

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December 2008

It's been a long time since I last wrote to all of you! Lets's catch up... Just got back from the road. The Donor trip to Lebanon was incredibly succesful! We were able to meet all 12 MLI dogs (4 are CHAMPS Dogs) and see them working in the field. Along for the trip was Tony Lake and his wife Julie Katzman, Perry Baltimore, Scott & Betsy Smith, Tom Golden and Chandelle Trahan from the CHAMPS VT - Girl Scout Campaign! And our star guest from Wyoming - "Flat Stanley." Flat Stanley has travelled the world far and wide, i've included some pics of him below. Escorting us was the LMAC (Lebanese Mine Action Center), the Military and the Intelligence folks. We had a great time, the food was marvelous, and the dogs.....they were wonderful.

Kimberly

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April 2008

Hi all - We have wonderful news!

 

The Girl Scouts of Essex Junction and Williston, Vermont, have been working tirelessly to sponsor their dog Champlain < read more >, but that isn’t enough for these now 5th Graders…they’ve  also raised some $4,000 toward their goal of $6,000 to help Anita in Slovenia get a new prosthetic leg!

They've also pulled 3 other schools into the fray to help Bosnia!

These Girl Scouts ROCK Vermont!!!

If you haven't already heard about our new "CHAMPS International" program then please visit the new section in our website < here >.

Kimberly

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March 2008

Hi all - CHAMPS is flying!!

 

the Vermont Campaign- Girl Scouts have raised a whopping $15,000 and the last $5,000 came from Joan Wismer, our CHAMPS Patron, which means their dog Champlain has been funded! And guess what??? the girls have decided to take their campaign one step further and have joined CHAMPS International!!
< read more >

the KIDS at the West Middle School (from the Denver Campaign) have been asked to participate in the State’s Service Learning Conference on May 1st… and they’ve been asked to do a 90-minute workshop on their CHAMPS Campaign!  Looks like “Utsi” will be attending too!

CHAMPS International has two victim’s going to Slovenia on Tuesday for a new prosthetic leg and evaluation for surgery….Life Is Good!

Kimberly

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February 2008

Hi all - Just wanted to send you to a really exciting campaign in Colorado Springs. They have lots of great fundraising activity ideas, including an "ugliest legs" contest! These kids are actually also writing four different books about CHAMPS dogs! Please go check it out and get inspired... I know I am!

< click to go to the Colorado Springs Campaign >

Kimberly

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January 2008

Happy New Year! Here's a new video I'd like to pass along < click here to check it out > It is a mine sniffing dog with his handler clearing land... Stay tuned for more exciting news coming up in February!

-Kimberly

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DECEMBER 2007

CHAMPSkids.org is featured on the About.com website in an article called, "Make Giving to Charity a Family Affair at the Holidays."

 

Go check it out:

I hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday Season! 

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NOVEMBER 2007

Dear Friends of CHAMPS,

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! 

I’ve some exciting news…It is with a great amount of pride that I share with all of you that the 14th CHAMPS Dog has been funded just this last week!!  The CHAMPS – Vermont – Girl Scouts Campaign, a group of 20 little 4th and 5th grade girls and two very energetic and enthusiastic Troop Leaders, launched their campaign officially just this last April.

 

These determined ladies had to get approval from the Vermont Girl Scout Council and began planning, and then working with Rotary Clubs, Historical Societies, Lions Clubs, and many other community organizations to make this Vermont dog a true Community Dog.  The group decided to name their dog Champlain and while we’re not sure when he/she will begin training, we know it will be very soon.  The CHAMPS Dog Vermont is in training now in Bosnia and I hope to get pictures of him/her while I’m there this next week…and pictures of Tornado, Stitch, and Shadow, all CHAMPS Dogs as well and in training with Vermont!

 

I also wanted to let all of you know that the Girl Scouts raised the first $15,000 and our CHAMPS Patron, Mrs. Joan Wismer, gave them their final $5,000 making their campaign a huge success.  You’ll all remember that Joan has helped the Campaigns that sponsored Granite, Arizona, and South Hadley be successful too by helping them finish their campaigns!

 

Many of you have already been sending Joan little notes or cards.  Just in case some of you don’t have her address it’s:

 

Joan Wismer

12400 Magnolia Blvd.

Valley Village, CA 91607

 

The Girl Scouts are still planning several more CHAMPS Fundraisers this school year to support a mine victim in the CHAMPS International Program!  

 

Please join me in congratulating Jennifer Mignano, whose daughter Maria brought CHAMPS to the Williston and Essex Junction Girl Scout Troops!!!

 

Jennifer’s e-mail is:   jenn.mig@verizon.net

 

Again, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Take care and I’ll be in touch soon with more exciting CHAMPS News!!

 

Warmest,

 

Kimberly

 

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AUGUST 2007


Lots of activity this summer and now that the school year has just begun we will be cruisin! Inspired yet? Why not go to the campaigns page and see if your state is running a CHAMPS campaign. You could be a pioneer!!
click to go to the campaigns page

As for the latest... here's just a sampling of what's been going on with all of the many CHAMPS campaigns...

1. Many new pics have been added to the Vermont photo gallery, so please go check em out, get inspired and keep cool!!!~~ CLICK TO GO

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AUGUST 2007

Girl power in Vermont! ---

CHAMPS Vermont - Girl Scouts Campaign Update:

Hey everyone - The Girl Scouts of Williston and Essex Junction have been busy and have already raised an incredible $8,100 since their Campaign began in April!!

With the strong leadership of both Jennifer Mignano (Troop Leader for Williston), and Chandelle Trahan (Troop Leader for Essex Junction) the kids have been up to some really cool stuff.

CHAMPS Director Kimberly McCasland, CHAMPS Assistant Rachel McCasland and Utsi have just returned from a 5-day trip to beautiful Vermont to help with a Car/Dog Wash and to participate in 3 days of AKC Dog Shows that were held in Essex Junction.
Both events were a huge success with the troops raising over $1,100 over the long weekend.

Here's a list of some of the community organizations that have been working with them, making this dog they plan to name Champlain a real "community dog"!

1. PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER - Pot Luck dinner last October, and will be doing a fundraiser at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company this coming November.

2. WILLISTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY - Gave proceeds of annual Ice Cream Social to their campaign, totaled $1,000.

3. WILLISTON ROTARY CLUB - Heard CHAMPS Director's presentation and gave $300 to kick the campaign off.

4. VFW - Essex Junction, will hold a cookout with silent auction on September 21 and a bingo night before Christmas.

5. LIONS CLUBS - $1,00 donation to start, and plan on on-going fundraising support.

6. LAKE CHAMPLAIN MARITIME FESTIVAL - Donating table at festival for 3 days and helping with silent auction.

7. ESSEX JUNCTION FIREHOUSE - Running two car/dog washes for them.

8. LOCAL SCHOOLS and the PTO GROUPS.

And, while I'm inclined to say "GIRL POWER!!!" I have to tell you that the Dad's and brothers, Uncles and Grandfathers of the girls are all pitching in. This is an wonderful example of how everyone is taking ownership of this Campaign to help sponsor their dog Champlain.

The plan is to have their dog sponsored by Christmas!!

JULY 2007

1 PIONEER in New Jersey! ---

Hannah Schiff isn’t an ordinary 16-year old. She read about the CHAMPS program in an article in Bark Magazine that came out in May, 2007. Interested in knowing more she went to our CHAMPS website and read about what the kids all over the country were doing to sponsor dogs, and was inspired to run her own independent campaign! So for all of you out there who are feeling inspired, come back soon to see what Hannah is up to and in the meantime here's the letter that Hannah wrote that put New Jersey on the map of CHAMPSKIDS!!

Dear Ms. McCasland,

My name is Hannah Schiff and I am a 16 year old junior at Metuchen High School in Metuchen, New Jersey. After reading about your CHAMPS program in Bark magazine I was inspired to join the fundraising effort. I have an Australian Shepard, and I understand the importance of properly training working dogs. I know that your program mainly focuses on using schools, but I would like to contribute with an independent campaign. I already have an excellent fundraising idea, that I think can make wonderful strides in raising money to train landmine detection dogs. I would love to hear back from you, so that I can begin fundraising. Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Sincerely,

Hannah Schiff

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JUNE 2007

A Connecticut 6-pack! ---

Let’s talk about Connecticut!  You’ll never believe this….not one, but THREE dogs have been sponsored in Connecticut!  And, there are 2 more Campaigns in the works.  Their goal is 6 DOGS… a 6-Pack from Connecticut! SO please keep on visiting the site and keeping an eye out on CT kids and the ever growing campaigns hapening there. The driving force behind all of CHAMPS Connecticut is Betsy Parkinson.  Her dedication and support from family and friends, especially Carole McIvor,  has made all of this possible.

AND ---

One of our CHAMPS kids was recently published on the MyHero.com website. Maxine from the Trinity Texas campaign wrote a wonderful article about CHAMPS. You can find it in the Texas campaign page or < click here > to see it on their website. Congratulations Maxine, you are a true CHAMP-ion!!!

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MAY 2007

UPDATE --- The final count of the Trinity Episcopal Schools campaign Read-a-Thon is ...(drum roll please...) $28,416.24 dollars!

They will be presenting a check to Perry Baltimore of the Marshall Legacy Institute, myself, Rachel (CHAMPS assitant) and Utsi, retired land mine sniffing dog extraordinaire on May 22, 2007.

The kids at Trinity have voted to continue yearly with CHAMPS as an ongoing project and to participate in CHAMPS International and help landmine victims receive prosthetics, therapy and job training! I love it!!
< read more about this big event! >

 

NEW SECTION ---

A big thumbs up for the incredible trainers at the Global Training Academy here in the USA. I'd like to let you know about the trainers behind the dogs who make all of this happen. Dan Hayter is one of the owners of the Global Training Academy and he is one of the best trainers in the world!!  His son, Glenn Hayter, was one of my trainers.  Very quiet, shy, but nice and as Dan’s son he's been working with the dogs since he was a little kid.  He’s lived all over the world training new handlers to be nothing but the best.  He’s only 20 or 21 now, but he’s been working as a trainer since he was 15!  Isn’t that amazing?

< check out our section highlighting the Global Training Academy >

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MARCH 30, 2007

BIG NEWS --- Our brand new campaign in Austin, Texas at the Trinity Episcopal School has had one of the most succesful campaigns in CHAMPS history!! They have singlehandedly raised $23,700 dollars in just ONE Read-a-Thon. Congratulations to all involved in the effort to sponsor a mine-sniffing dog named "Tornado"
< read more about this big event! >

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MARCH 2007

Hi CHAMPS KIDS! I just wanted to share a link with you from the Kind News Website called "Hero Dogs" <click to go> and then surf back to CHAMPSKIDS.org for more fun stuff to do and learn about. Also, there are lots of new campaigns happening... one in Vermont, Texas, all kinds of new pictures in the Colorado campaign and new pics of the dogs so start surfing!!!

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FEBRUARY 2007

Dear Friends of CHAMPS,

Today I went to the MDDC (Mine Detection Dog Center) in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s  website and found their “news” section and KNEW you’d all want to see it too!!!  Lots of info about the last 6-dogs, of which 3 are CHAMPS DOGS!!!!

Remember too that you can see so much of what is going on around the country on this website!  Pages that are being written right now…CHAMPS Colorado, CHAMPS Texas – Trinity Episcopal, CHAMPS Illinois – Naperville, CHAMPS Vermont – Williston Girl Scouts Bronze, and last but certainly not least CHAMPS Texas – Alexis Keslinke Girl Scout Gold.  Be watching on the website for those pages that will be added soon!

Love to all, we’re off to Miami to work with Rotary Clubs and schools!!

Warmest,

Kimberly