Several members of the Florida Storytelling Association will take part in a Zoom fund-raiser for Florida Poodle Rescue on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m.
The online event, “Dogs Have Tales,” also includes a story from the late Jim Gregory who passed away in July. Jim, a long-time member of FSA, had pre-recorded his story of Abby, the Wonder Dog.
Even though he was in poor health, he wanted to help support Florida Poodle Rescue with this program that includes 8 tellers.
Other tellers include:
+ Carrie Sue Ayvar, who is based in South Florida, has been connecting curriculum, people, languages, and cultures in both English and Spanish for 30 years in diverse venues throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
+ Pete Abdalla, of Central Florida, is another long-time member of FSA and former president of the Storytellers of Central Florida.
+ Katie Green, formerly of Central Massachusetts, has been a resident of Dunedin, Fl. since 2016. A founding member of League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling she has enlightened and delighted audiences from coast to coast for 30 years.
+ Jim Kissane, of the Storytellers of Old Tampa Bay, specializes in personal stories, historical stories and tales of industrial America.
+ Rose Frazier, also of Dunedin, is a new voice to Florida storytelling with an amazing story about a long-distance dog rescue project that originated in Shanghai.
+ Sue Schueller, of the Ohio-based WRAPPS (Western Reserve Association for the Preservation & Perpetuation of Storytelling) has devoted many volunteer hours at an animal shelter.
+ Walt Belcher, of Safety Harbor, Fl. and an FSA board member, is a former newspaper reporter who is now telling stories after more than 35 years of writing stories.
This event was created and developed by Maureen Belote, of the Tampa Storying Guild and long-time member of FSA.
Maureen said that when the COVID shutdown kept Florida Poodle Rescue from holding the usual fundraisers, a call went out to see if anyone could do something different.
“For a long time, I wanted to do a program of dog stories, so I got eight of my storytelling friends to agree to donate their time and talent, along with a fellow who had done the tech part of the Florida Storytelling Association’s festivals, to put together this program,” she said.
Since the creation of Florida Poodle Rescue in 1994, the non-profit group has found homes for over 10,000 Poodles — Standards, Miniatures, Toys, and Poodle-wannabes — who have been abandoned, abused, neglected, unwanted, or who simply lost their home due to the death of their human parent.
Rescued dogs are examined by a veterinarian and care is given as needed — spaying/neutering, vaccines, dental procedures, preventative medications, and microchips.
Florida Poodle Rescue has also provided many Poodles with treatment for active cases of heartworm and major surgeries such as facial reconstruction, hip surgery, cataracts and broken bone repairs. All are placed in foster homes that provide love and patience to help them adjust before being adopted
All proceeds from the storytelling event will go to Florida Poodle Rescue. Please note that you will need to download the Zoom application to watch the show. It is free to download!
Your ticket will allow you to watch the recording for one full week. A ticket is only $15, far less than these spoken word artists would charge for a performance.
“I am so grateful to each teller and our tech person, John O’Hara. Of course, super gratitude goes to Florida Poodle Rescue for my nearly perfect poodle, Teddy, who we adopted in Jan. 2018 when he was 3 1/2, and who has brought us such great joy and comfort,” Maureen said.
For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/…/dogs-have-tales-tickets