Partners and Paws Summer 2020

Embracing Challenges

and finding ways forward

We used to bounce ideas off each other in the hallways and check our thinking by dropping by each other’s offices. We knew if one of us was having a bad day, if someone’s allergies flared up, if there was car trouble. It was all erased. My worry was that without the structure of our building and our routines, we would lose our center of gravity. We would lose our connection to one another. Instead, we adapted. Quickly we tried (and in some cases, just as quickly abandoned) a multitude of new technologies to find a replacement for face-to- face interaction.

The past few months have provided that opportunity, and I have been happily surprised. I didn’t comprehend how deeply staff members trust one another, how good natured, flexible, and resourceful they would be. I didn’t realize how much we could depend on our volunteers to stand by us. (We’ll see you soon!) I didn’t expect Bland Correctional Center, which houses the Prison Puppy Program, to be as stalwart a partner to Saint Francis as they have been. I didn’t know that donors would step up and stick with us when the chips were down.

I have always been proud of Saint Francis Service Dogs. I am proud of our mission to enrich the lives of people with disabilities, of our commitment to warmth and professionalism, of our core value of treating everyone regardless of race, religion, age, sexual orientation/ identity, imprisoned or free, disabled or not – with respect and dignity. I am proud of the quality of our dogs – both in the superlative quality of their training and in their very characters – each dog unique but all chock-full of love and joy to share. I have never been as proud as I am now. It has certainly been an unnerving time for all of us, and it has presented a multitude of unforeseen challenges. We do a lot of planning here. We didn’t plan for this. Every single aspect of operations at Saint Francis is different than it was a mere three months ago. Our workplaces, our protocols, and our habits have all changed. So many things we took for granted – including the way we communicate and the way we interact with people every day – are turned on their heads. We used to catch up in face-to-face meetings, talk shop over lunch, have impromptu brainstorming sessions while exercising dogs in the fields.

We figured out how to work away from the office. We built new communication pathways and found new ways to maintain connections with each other and with our partners. (We got used to being on camera.) These discoveries are changing not only the way we work now, but how we are going to continue to improve long after this crisis is past. There are circumstances that come along once in a while that strip organizations bare, so you can see what they are made of.

It would have been much better if this hadn’t happened, but it did. At Saint Francis we have embraced this challenge and used it to push ourselves to find new ways forward, to innovate, to be resourceful, and to embrace change. We will continue to use the challenges presented to us to make ourselves stronger, more emphatic, and better. Thank you for being there with us and for us. I hope we make you proud.

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