Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

Support my independence

| Filed under writing

Hello loved ones, colleagues and friends,

Please support my leadership  efforts serving as a Graduate Council member for Guiding Eyes  for the Blind by making a donation  of $20 or more on my behalf.  The Graduate Council volunteers by performing follow up interviews and graduate support for new guide dog teams.

Due to the  less than lucrative economic climate, I  am asking for assistance so I will be able to participate in our annual Graduate Council weekend in October .

During the weekend, we will be participating in team building,  meet with other key Guiding Eyes staff members and the Canine Development Center, and much more.

Most importantly, It is a chance for us to  once again be with our Guiding Eyes family and for Guiding eyes staff to reunite with  the graduates and the dogs provided to us free of charge. Your donation will help offset the cost of transportation and other costs associated with providing  the 9 member Council with meals and lodging.

Thank you for supporting Guiding Eyes and the pride and independence it gives to its graduates by teaming us up with these canine partners.

*** All donations must be received by September 15, 2012. ***

 

Thank you very much

Annie &  Guiding Eyes Verona

Begin donation instructions:

Go to: www.guidingeyes.org/donate

Enter your gift amount.

Under “Special Gift Opportunities” – select “Graduate Council.”

Under “Memorial and Tribute Gift Information”

1-Select “Yes” this is a memorial or tribute gift

2- Under “Honor Gift Type” select In Honor of

3-Enter Graduate Council Member name under Honoree Name Ann Chiappetta

 

4-Under “Is this gift in memory/honor of a Guiding Eyes Graduate” check yes

 

 

Thank you.  Your gift will help me to do more work for a mission I care so much about.

 

 

 

Ann Chiappetta M.S. and Verona

Guiding Eyes Grad Council

Twitter: Anniedungarees

For more writing, go to:

https://www.thought-wheel.com

 

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0

poems I forgot to send with last post

| Filed under writing

Organizational Weeds

By Ann Chiappetta

 

Tempers are flaring

which one

Of us is being uncaring?

Out with the old

In with the new

Who is saying

What the other  is saying

is untrue?

We’ve tried facilitation, moderation, mediation

Yet not one of us can break through

 

Right now we’re treading water

Trying to reach the shoreline

While Fearing what lies ahead.

 

How do we keep our spirit, originality,

While meeting the growing needs of our members in good stead?

Who are we besides a group of folks who can’t see?

Who are we, what do we hope to achieve?

 

What has gone before has become insufficient

To lead us

What the future holds for us is indiscernible

Yet we must proceed

Forging ahead means breaking away

growth.

Can we, as a group, face the growing pains

Or will we spiral into a tangle of organizational weeds?

 

***

Sheaves of Hate

By Ann Chiappetta

 

Though the field could use tilling

With a temperate scythe

From it, Only the shimmer of heat rises

 

Awaiting the  bitter harvest

The exposure of cool earth is still

Far away yet

I hope and pray for the day when

We can both seed the garden with fertile respect

I will till the soil one more time,

Plant  the seeds

Nurture fragile shoots with pride

And with some trepidation

Hope our worlds coincide.

 

July 2012

 

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Update from Anniebird

| Filed under writing

 

Updates from Anniebird

 

My exam accommodation case is being reviewed by the attorney. I will hopefully receive good news about the attorney taking the case in a few weeks.

 

My student loan was reduced for the next two years because I pain on time for the last 48 months. So, I’m saving 40 bucks a month and will hopefully reduce it even more when they review  it in two years time. I’m such a good little citizen.

 

Dad is not doing well. For those of you who don’t really know me or my family, my dad has Emphazema and advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He’s been receiving  in-home hospice care for about four months now. He weighs 111 lbs. He used to weigh about 160 when he was younger. He just celebrated his 80th birthday and I am so grateful he made it to that milestone. I pray for him and hope he isn’t suffering more than the milder discomfrts of aging.

 

What else? Well, my experience serving on the board of directors for a National advocacy group has been challenging and continues to be so. Traversing the turbulent waters of this diverse and oftentimes polarizing group has helped me  realize that I do have good leadership skills, no matter how others might view me personally.

Some poems about this group:

 

And so, in closing this post, I hope  the late summer sun warms your collective buns, for soon it will be slanting toward winter.

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0