Sam Leinweber

From a group I work with:

SEARCH & RESCUE TEAM NEEDS YOUR HELP !

Earlier this year People and Paws Search and Rescue,Inc. was nominated as
one of hundreds of charitable, non-profit organization across the U.S. that
were making a significant impact in their respective communities. We were
selected through an online voting process and panel review and selected as one of
21 organizations to receive a regional award of $5,000. We now have the
opportunity to compete in an online vote for a single $100,000 national award.
Your daily vote could help us win, and help support training and equipment
for canine search and rescue for the next 3 years!!

http://www.rezoom.com/abetterworld/
and scroll to "People and Paws" (alpha order)
to vote, and VOTE DAILY until August 10th, 2007


~Why People and Paws Search and Rescue, Inc?
Since the team’s inception in 2000 we have been requested by law
enforcement, fire departments, and other public safety agencies throughout Wisconsin and
around the Midwest using highly trained personnel and canines. Our team has
trained extensively and certified in various disciplines to use canines to
locate missing/lost persons. The team has been deployed to assist in cases
ranging from missing children and elderly Alzheimer patients, to disasters.
As a 100% volunteer team we are funded by our members, the community, and
private corporations. The team does not receive any government funding or
taxpayer-funded support. We provide our services FREE to the requesting agency,
and rely on donations, sponsors, and grants such as Rezoom to support our
continued operations.
~What a difference $100,000 would make.
The training, education, and equipment required to maintain a K9 search and
rescue team comes at a substantial cost. It is specifically this reason that
the vast majority of public safety agencies are unable to staff their own
resources and rely on teams like ours in a time of need. Winning this award
would allow our team to do the following;
1. Fund ongoing training, education, and certification processes for
the next 3-5 years for the benefit of our team as well as others throughout
Wisconsin & the US. This includes bringing nationally recognized trainers and
certification instructors to Wisconsin. These programs typically cost several
hundred dollars per K9/Handler not including travel and lodging expenses and
have previously only been available out of state. These programs allow us to
train and certify canines in Trailing, Tracking, Disaster and Human Remains
Detection,.
2. Upgrade and increase our communication equipment to ensure constant,
critical communications between all rescuers and agencies in an incident.
3. Increase the size of our Disaster K9 section. We are currently
working on a goal of having six disaster canine teams that have completed the
Canine Search Specialist class and are State USAR certified. One class alone
costs $1,500, not including travel expenses, and is held only in limited
locations throughout the US.
4. Upgrade our water response capabilities. A significant portion of
our searches involve water. Purchase additional equipment to work in
conjunction with our boat teams with side scan sonar in support of our Human Remains
Detection canines to locate missing/presumed deceased persons in water.
5. Purchase and upgrade safety, rescue and medical equipment.
Your support and your DAILY votes would be greatly appreciated. This is a
way for you to donate a few seconds of your time and make a tremendous impact.
Individual donations can also be made if you desire at our team website at
http://peopleandpaws.org/

Please feel free to cross post and sorry if you got this multiple times!

Geoff Gardiner
Canine Search Specialist
People & Paws Search and Rescue
http://peopleandpaws.org/