The Woohoo! Report

FROM THE ROAD, NEW ENGLAND, U.S.A.—On Saturday, June 19, 2010, Luke Robinson and his two Great Pyrenees, Hudson and Murphy, will complete their 2,000-mile journey by walking their final mile into Boston, MA.

Beginning in March 2008 from Austin, TX, Luke Robinson and his dogs have been walking across the US to raise awareness for canine and human cancer. Luke’s inspiration for his incredible journey came from his desire to both remember and to look for answers after his first Great Pyrenees “Malcolm” lost a hard fought battle with Osteosarcoma also known as bone cancer. He put his material life in storage, packed his tent and hit the road.

Recently Luke and his two companion dogs, eight year-old Murphy and three year-old Hudson were guests on the Today Show where they shared their skills for survival on the road for the past two years.

Boston will be the setting for a weekend long dog-friendly celebration to welcome Luke and his boys! Currently there are friends, family and dog lovers from 18 states planning to walk the Final Mile with Luke, Hudson and Murphy. Prior to sharing the final mile into Boston, all will gather at the Kelleher Rose Garden at Back Bay Fens for a brief Memorial Service, June 19th, at 9:30 am to remember the pets and people they have lost to cancer. Following the service a moment of silence will be observed so that we might remember all our loved ones touched by cancer.

The final mile beginning at Back Bay Fens and going to the Boston Common, led by Luke, Hudson, and Murphy, will then begin after the Memorial Service.

The Puppy Up! Festival on Saturday, June 19, at the Boston Common Parkman Bandstand is the doggie event of the season with food, shopping and entertainment. The Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium (CHCC) will be at the festival collecting DNA samples from dogs. The samples collected by the CHCC are for a nationwide project involving more than 30 scientific investigators at nearly a dozen institutions, which plan to use dog DNA to not only discover the causes of cancer in dogs, but in people, too.

Later that evening join Luke and his boys for a Gala Event at the elegant Fairmont Copley Hotel featuring a silent auction and dinner. Luke will also reveal a new adventure that dog lovers from around the world can participate in: 2 Million Dogs, to bite back even harder at cancer!

Robinson, Hudson and Murphy are currently walking in the Providence, Rhode Island area making their way to Boston.

For more information on attending this unique event visit www.2dogs2000miles.org or for information about our next phase visit www.2milliondogs.org.

Follow this link to find out information about our Boston events 2 Dogs 2000 Miles Boston Celebrations

Stop by our Puppy Up! Store for some really cool stuff!

Puppy Up!

Ginger Morgan

901.619.2286

www.2dogs2000miles.org

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Miami motivational speaker says his project worthy of reality TV show

Associated Press

MIAMI – The three homeless men stand before well-groomed Frank Kelly, “America’s Best Dressed Real Man” of 2007, according to Esquire Magazine. He’s there to help them get work.

“Don’t just tell me your strengths. Tell me a situation where you were able to implement that strength,” Kelly tells them.

Two months later, each has a job.

The group is part of Project Vacant Streets, Kelly’s initiative to get the homeless back on their feet one job at a time. Each participant undergoes a series of transformations — emotional, professional and physical. The idea is that in less than a month, they gain the confidence to land a job through the skills learned. Kelly says he has helped nine people find jobs in the nearly two years since he started.

Kelly, a 32-year-old product director at Johnson & Johnson, describes the program’s candidates as everyday Americans. He said most are not mentally ill or drug addicts, they have just suffered from chronic homelessness.

“They have an incredibly difficult time getting back into the work force,” Kelly said.

Kelly was born in Nicaragua, and his family moved to the Miami area when he was 2. His grandmother spent her life volunteering with churches and the homeless.

“People around me introduced me to the world of volunteering and philanthropy, but it wasn’t until Project Vacant Streets that I had my own thing,” he said.

Misconceptions about homelessness

As a second career, Kelly was already a motivational speaker, giving lectures at college campuses and work settings about leaving lasting impressions while achieving your goals. A friend suggested that Kelly speak at the Community Partnership for the Homeless in Miami, which each night houses about 700 of Miami-Dade County’s estimated 4,300 homeless.

“My first reaction was what could I possibly convey to the homeless? I was almost afraid of walking into the shelter,” he said. Once Kelly stepped inside the shelter, though, he said the room’s energy convinced him that he needed to change Americans’ misconceptions about homelessness.

In less than six months, Kelly put his idea into practice with help from his wife, who handles logistics and phone calls, and from friends and family who volunteer. Now he’s thinking about trying to turn the project into a reality TV show.

The program starts with an open house at the homeless shelter. Kelly narrows a group of candidates, selecting three he sees have the potential to complete the program.

One of the candidates Kelly recently picked was Fred Rice, 53, a waiter in Los Angeles, San Diego and Atlanta for nearly 30 years before the money ran out and he became homeless. For 16 years, Rice bounced from city to city, shelter to shelter.

“I’m putting all but two of my marbles into Frank Kelly, him teaching me basically the science of how to get a job,” Rice said.

Having picked the hopefuls, Kelly goes to work on getting them to work.

“Give some type of pitch for an interview. That gives you the confidence to walk in there with a positive attitude,” Kelly tells the latest group during one of several mock interviews.

He critiques and refines their resumes — over and over. They get a makeover at a Target, with Kelly on hand to give advice about what’s appropriate for work.

The final challenge is what Kelly calls the emotional change, with the candidates sharing their homeless experience during a speech to supporters and students at the University of Miami.

“America’s biggest fear is speaking in public. So if these people can overcome that, then who is to say they can’t overcome any interview?” Kelly said.

Success stories

Some employers aren’t willing to give Kelly’s pupils a chance.

“A large majority shut their doors on our project. They just don’t get it. They have these preconceived notions of America’s homeless,” said Kelly, who spends his lunch break calling contacts and sending out e-mails to help the candidates land an interview.

Several companies, however, have offered their services. Perry Ellis, the menswear line, has donated professional attire for candidates.

Kelly said he’s spent about 1,500 hours and $8,000 to $10,000 of his own money on the project.

His payoff has been success stories like Rice, who was hired as a food server at the Eden Roc Hotel on Miami Beach. The program, Rice said, “brought me back to the living world.”

[source]