For Cheryl Cooper’s Grade 1 reading group, the story of Buddy, Morris Frank’s service dog for the blind, served to inspire a group mitzvah. Sometimes, a story is more than words on a page. 

Morris Frank and his dog Buddy had traveled to Europe in 1928 to undergo special training so Buddy could become a seeing-eye dog. Frank became the first person ever to have a trained seeing eye dog. Upon returning to the US, he opened The Seeing Eye, an organization that - to this day - trains dogs from puppyhood to become seeing-eye dogs for the blind. 

The reading group met online with a representative from The Seeing Eye to learn more, and decided to participate in their “Pennies for Puppies” program. The children sponsored the German shepherd Otis, and raised $250 to help with training and matching Otis with a blind or visually impaired person. Kol hakavod to these amazing readers for their caring attitude!