Port Clinton Nonprofits and Charities

I first learned of Nancy and Island Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary (ISHAS) when we found out we had a mutual friend in a dog rescuer who lived in Denver. Through his group e-mails and his subsequent death when we mourned him together we all got to know of one another better. My husband and I began donating to ISHAS. THEN...Nancy posted a photo and story of Frannie Mae, a then 11 year old Shih Tzu dolly, who had been a victim (terribly neglected) of a puppy mill. My husband and I fell totally in love. Frannie Mae had a very long recuperation from all the neglect and horrible treatment she incurred from the puppy mill. ISHAS brought her back to good health, caring for and loving her, day and night, until she was ready for adoption. We live in Wyoming, a long way from Ohio where ISHAS is located. But Nancy and I both knew Frannie Mae would love to be a Wyoming Cowgirl. Nancy, ISHAS, and Nancy's friend, Jules, were determined to make a miracle happen and got Frannie Mae to Denver where we met Jules and brought our sweet Frannie Mae home to Wyoming. We will always be grateful to angels Nancy and Jules and to ISHAS for working with us to bring our miracle girl, Frannie Mae, home and into our hearts. Frannie Mae just celebrated her 14th birthday. She and our other five furkids, all seniors, all mixed breeds, and adopted from various sanctuaries and shelters, send a huge hello and many thanks to ISHAS for all they do for the animals.

I am a single mom to Karys (6) and Kai (4). They were both diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2013. That year marked a turning point in our family. I would soon become familiar with words like receptive speech, echolalia, proprioception, and sensory processing, among others. I began taking off work so we could go to appointments with Developmental Pediatricians, and attend speech therapy, play therapy, equine therapy, and IEP meetings. I enrolled in a Masters program in Special Education with an emphasis in ASD so I could learn more about what my children were going through. I fumbled my way through insurance lingo, coding, and billing to make sure everything was processed correctly (it was not). I began applying for grants to help cover the cost of therapy, to offset the cost of my high insurance deductible. I attended autism research conferences, joined every autism-focused group on social media I could find. I started a blog about our journey. After all of this, I still felt there was something missing. As a full-time working single mother, I kept thinking to myself: it should not be this hard. There are services out there; great ones in fact. But why do I have to drive 30 minutes each way to get to them? And why are they all spread out? And why do they overcharge me by 300%? I live in a relatively small community, yes, but it is full of highly educated people in the special education field. And there are over 800 children with disabilities in the schools in my small county. There are no adequate child care centers, no adequate after-school programs, and no adequate summer camps or therapy services for children with disabilities. Soon all the ideas seemed to merge into one: and Pathway Inclusion Center was born. I, along with a Board of Directors, established a non-profit organization aimed at proving child care services, after-school programs, summer camps, therapy services, parent workshops, an indoor playground, sensory room, and respite care, among others. We incorporated in October 2015 and have since launched a massive fundraising campaign aimed at raising funds to renovate our dream building. I have worked tirelessly 20-30 hours per week unpaid for this organization since its inception. We have created by-laws, thrown over 10 successful fundraising events in just 8 months, applied for multiple grants, established a social media following, and have garnered support from nearly every corner of our community. And this is just the beginning. In 2017, we will begin offering programming to the children and families of this community, hosting parent workshops, starting a parent support group, social skills and mentoring programs, creative play workshops, and we hope to open the doors of the child care center by the end of the year. It is often said that while we are raising our children, they somehow raise us. What keeps me so focused on giving my time and money to this organization is the hard work I see my children putting in everyday to grow and learn and thrive. If they can put in as much effort as they have the past three years, so can I. I won't stop giving until long after the ribbon is cut and those doors are open.

To begin with the person that wrote the 1st review is full of crap, for one thing the Humane Officers pay for all of their own stuff, NO SHELTER MONEY is spent on Humane Officers, and all counties have uniforms and accessories to protect them from people like you, not the animals, 2nd HSOC does not put animals down unless a Vet says its for the best, 3rd the board is a lot better now then it was before, at least they have people that care about the animals, and not themselves ,as for sick cats, no answer to that as all shelters have the same problem, the animals are vaccinated see a vet and either spayed or neutered ,before they leave, if you have a problem stop by the shelter and talk about it. <br>The shelter is looking good and operating in the black, thanks to folks that care. <br> And I Know who may of worte this!!!!!!!!