by Irene Soriano Brightman
Lori and I were very excited to host the donation presentation from the NISHI GIRL SCOUTS TROOP 12135 – Junior Bronze Project 2009-2010 members this past Saturday at the kennels! Coordinating fundraising projects for DDR is extremely fun and gratifying and the visit from Troop 12135 has been a wonderful highlight! 14 amazing young ladies and their leaders presented Lori with big bags of dog food, dog care items purchased from PETCO, dog beds and used blankets among other many things. I was amazed at what the girls had accomplished at the culmination of their project “OPERATION SAVE THE HOMELESS PETS.”Through the coordination skills of Troop member mom, Lina Doi, various emails between her, me and Lori went on in the last couple of months. It was nice to finally meet her last Saturday and also get treated to a great visit from the project’s inspiration, DDR Alum, Pirate and her family, Christine and her daughter, Miya. Through Lina and her daughter’s efforts, both DEL MONTE PET PRODUCTS and CENTRAL PET DISTRIBUTION donated significant pallets of dog food to DDR. This came right in time for the PET FAIR we are planning for June at our COMPTON monthly spay/neuter clinic. This donation will help replenish and increase access of our OPERATION SAFETY NET project within DDR.
How did this all come about? With a wonderful ambassador for her breed, DDR Alum, PIRATE. Troop 12135 are all familiar with Pirate through Miya and Christine. He goes to games, meetings and wins everyone’s hearts. Because of Pirate, a group of young girls have a kinder perspective on pitbulls.
When the Troop leaders were trying to identify a Junior Bronze Project for the 09-10 year, they chose DDR since all the girls wanted to work with pets and had Pirate as a reference point. And that was what got the ball rolling:
(click on each page to enlarge image)
What these young ladies accomplished is truly amazing and we thank them for all their hard work (writing appeals, recycling, making crafts to sell, etc!) At the end of the presentation, they also got to play a little bit with Clancy and we also presented each member with an award and calendar from DDR to recognize their labor and compassion for homeless animals.
Here on out the NISHI GIRL SCOUTS TROOP 12135 are the inaugural JUNIOR PITlanthropists of Downtown Dog Rescue — Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! 
Thank you Jacqueline, Mia, Penelope, Karlee, Alyssa K. Alyssa L, Taylor, Mirai, Amanda, Leila, Kihomi, Juliana, Lindsey, Marley, Ariel, Susan, Eileen, Sandie & Lisa!
Special shout outs to Lina, Christine, Pirate, Ami, Miya and all the parents of Troop 12135 and all that donated to the Troops efforts to raise money and resources!
