Sit Stay Read

By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO & Pet Industry Entrepreneur

This Friday, May 16, is CanineLink’s second annual Alumni Event. I’m really excited about it, because my schedule has been so crazy lately that I have had no time to catch up with the people I’ve met through the seminars and workshops and who have now become friends and colleagues.

I’m also pretty excited about our beneficiary for this year’s event – Sit Stay Read. Their mission is to improve literacy skills and foster a love of learning in Chicago’s at-risk children. This year they are celebrating their tenth anniversary!

Sit Stay Read uses trained dogs to increase a child’s confidence and generate excitement about reading. By reading about and interacting with a dog during a session, the concept of “reading” goes from abstract to real life, which leads to lasting learning. Having a dog in class is also a really fun thing, and generates a lot of positive reinforcement around the act of reading itself. This creative approach has big results – assessment tests indicate significant improvement in classrooms using Sit Stay Read enrichment programs, as compared to those who don’t.

All of these programs are provided free of charge to public schools and community facilities serving low-income families in Chicago.

Want to learn more about this great organization, and find out how you can help? Go to their website at www.sitstayread.org. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

#animalassistedtherapy #sitstayread #readingassessmenttests #positivereinforcement #readingwithdogs