A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend
Flag Planting at national cemeteries on Memorial Day weekend are quickly becoming a proud tradition for the members, volunteers, and supporters of Sheep Dog Impact Assistance. Saturday, May 25th was one of those memorable days, a day of learning and remembering. It is important that we never forget the sacrifice made by so many of our nations finest, and opportunities like this will ensure that we never do.
Disaster Relief in Moore, OK
MOORE, Oklahoma
A giant tornado, a mile wide or more, tore through this Oklahoma City suburb Monday afternoon, flattening homes, flinging cars through the air and crushing at least two schools packed with children.
At least 51 people were killed in the storm, according to a spokesperson for the Oklahoma City medical examiner.
As most of you already know, the events of Monday afternoon leave us devastated as we watch the devastation outside of Oklahoma City unfold. The massive tornadoes that ripped through the city of Moore and the Oklahoma City region have left a community shattered, and in desperate search for faith and loved ones.
SDIA Members Honored for Distinguished Service
Two of our northwest Arkansas members were recently presented with the Distinguished Service Award. This is the highest annual award presented by the Springdale, AR Police Department. SDIA is extremely proud of Detectives Robert Hendrix and Matt Ray for receiving this award. These two Sheep Dogs are a shining example of the good our Law Enforcement men and women perform on a daily basis. Their selfless dedication to duty and community has led to a tremendous amount of success overall for the Springdale Police Dept.
SDIA, Sgt Marshall Kennedy, and Homes for Our Troops
SDIA is teaming up with Homes for Our Troops to support the needs of Sgt Marshall Kennedy and his beautiful family. We will be helping with the landscaping plan for Sgt Marshall Kennedy’s home in Farmington, AR and need your help. Join Homes for Our Troops and the SDIA Team on May 18, 2013 to help spread mulch, install sod and clean the interior of this home.
1st Annual SDIA MAT Kids Tournament
Our MAT Kids program is having its first charity tournament on April, 27th. The kids are very excited and have been training hard. Our good friends and sponsor, Triton Fight Center in Broken Arrow, OK, is hosting the event. This is an opportunity for our kids to meet other young people that enjoy jiu jitsu, and an opportunity to grow our MAT Kids family. This is also a chance for us to push one of our MAT Kids missions of encouraging our nations Sheep Dogs to mentor children that have been exposed to bullying. These young people gain self confidence, enabling them to stand up to bullies if needed, and also provides a valuable asset in the form of a mentor, a Sheep Dog.
2013 1st Annual SDIA Charity Ball
On Saturday, February 16th, we celebrated the successes of 2012 via our 1st Annual SDIA Charity Ball. By all accounts the Ball was a great success! We had targeted an attendance of 150 for our first Ball, but were thrilled to have 200 plus attend. This years Ball included a cake cutting ceremony, bag pipers, silent auction, guest speaker Joseph Collins, dinner, awards ceremony, special music and dancing. Everything went so well in our first year we are already looking forward to our 2nd Annual Ball. We can’t wait to see you there!
Disaster Relief Mission to Hattiesburg, MS
A Sheep Dog IA team from northwest Arkansas spent the week in Hattiesburg and Petal, Mississippi, assisting with disaster relief in the aftermath of a tornado that struck in the early evening of Feb. 11th. Our SDIA team members assisted with recovery efforts, clean-up, and handed out supplies to families in need.
Our team members are amazed on every mission by the outpouring of support and assistance given by other volunteer disaster relief organizations, to the point that we should no longer be surprised. We live in a great country, surrounded by caring and giving people that are always ready and willing to support neighbors and communities in need.
Christmas Outreach 2012
Christmas Outreach is our annual program to adopt the children of any military, law enforcement, fire & rescue or EMS family that needs assistance during the holiday season.
This years Christmas Outreach was a great success…we were able to provide gifts to more than 160 children of Sheep Dog families in need.
Wounded Warriors and the Spartan Beast
On December 8th, SDIA members from Arkansas and Texas participated in the Spartan Beast in Glen Rose, TX. They were honored to have Wounded Warriors, Cpl Nick Perales and Cpl Sebastian Gallegos, join them in conquering 13+ grueling miles and 30 challenging obstacles enroute to completing the 2012 Spartan Beast. Nick and Sebastian are U.S. Marines and are currently at the Ft Sam Houston Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, where they are finishing their rehab requirements due to injuries sustained in Afghanistan. Nick lost his right leg just below the knee, and sustained additional trauma to his left leg from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while on patrol in Afghanistan. Sebastian lost his right arm at the shoulder from the blast of a separate IED while on patrol in Afghanistan.
An Awesome 2012 NWA Turkey Trot
Our 2012 Annual NWA Turkey Trot and Wild Gobbler exceeded ALL expectations! The race, benefiting Sheep Dog Impact Assistance and our Assisting Sheep Dogs in Need Program, was a great success based on the number of people that attended the event. We were hoping for 450 participants and had more than 600 runners, walkers and Wild Gobblers.
This years Turkey Trot followed a very successful Thanksgiving Program that provided Thanksgiving meals to Sheep Dog families in need … military, law enforcement, fire and rescue and EMS personnel struggling through the holidays. We few more than 300 Sheep Dogs and their family members.