UMPI English majors Bethany Tabb, Megan Waceken and Bailey Corley gave a University Day presentation on an organization most of us have not heard of. That is “Canines for Disabled Kids,” a nonprofit organization that helps place Service Animals with children and their families who could benefit from them.
Bethany Tabb, Megan Waceken, and Bailey Corley give their presentation on CDK and advocacy.
Corley, Waceken and Tabb were all part of an Advocacy class. “At the beginning of the semester, pretty much none of us knew what advocacy was,” Bethany Tabb said. In working on their semester-long projects with CDK, however, they all would leave us with a better understanding of what advocacy really means.
The project involved talking with a number of CDK clients, partners and board members. The board members work Pro-bono. They put their time and energy into CDK’s cause for advocacy. “Meeting new people was my favorite part of all the process,” Bailey Corley said.
One example the presenters gave of CDK’s impact was the story about Jacob and Murphy. Jacob has autism and was diagnosed at the age of three. He was nonverbal before getting Murphy. After CDK helped Jacob get Murphy, Jacob could speak in full sentences. For Jacob, Murphy brought out the best in him.
UMPI’s professor of communication and journalism, Dr. Jacqui Lowman, taught the advocacy class. Dr. Lowman is a wheelchair user who has two service dogs. Her students adore Saint and Dusty.
“I feel like we really learned so much just by having Dr. J. as our teacher. Because you don’t know a lot about something unless you’re experiencing it firsthand,” Megan Waceken said.
Overall, CDK is a humble organization whose mission is simple: help those in need. In talking to the members of CDK, these three presenters grasped a great understanding of what advocacy and helping others really means. That is, doing so out of the goodness of your heart, and not expecting anything in return.
