peace4paws
NEW JERSEY:
Jennifer Cece Bellon (Chairwoman):
Alyssa Viñas:
Seasoned in the styles of Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga, she promotes wellness and spiritual ananda (bliss) through movement and meditation. Her additional background as a certified Pilates Instructor/Practitioner for the past five years, along with her experience as a 3rd Degree Black Belt Instructor/Practitioner for over a decade, instills in her a fire, which she emanates in her classes at various Bergen County locations. A recent graduate of Dartmouth College, she earned her B.A. in Psychology and devotes much of her time to this passion as well. When not engaging in her more physical/spiritual practices, she dedicates her time to an organization called NovoCure. As the Head Regional Clinician of her clinic in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, she treats stage IV brain cancer patients with an experimental medical device www.novocuretrial.com. She is also currently exploring Graduate School options in the field of Psychology/Psychological Counseling for Fall 2008. Her love and loyalty towards all living things inspire her to reach out and spread peace to all of Nature.
“Human Beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom.” -- The XIVth Dalai Lama
Susan Weinrich Boudrot has been an animal lover since the day she opened her eyes. When she was young, she would constantly bring home animals that needed her love and attention. Susan went to Stockton State College for environmental studies. After school, with the help of her family, she decided to open a pet store called Westwood Pets. Over the past 28 years, Westwood Pets has grown into a well-known and respected business that has serviced many animals and their human friends. Susan and her employees are very compassionate and knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition, training, and behavioral issues for all their furry, feathered, and scaly friends. Westwood Pets has reared and fostered cats, kittens, and bunnies for 2 organizations, FOCAS and Huga Bunny. The pet store also works with various other organizations to help animals in need such as CLAWS and C.A.T.S. Susan is a very busy woman, but she feels that there is no creature too small that doesn’t deserve every ounce of love she has to offer.
Mandy Grant:Owner, Juluka Yoga Studio and School (www.julukayoga.com)
When Jennifer and Denise shared their interest in helping the cause of animals in despair, I was delighted at the idea. I am so proud of their efforts and those of all the other teachers at Juluka who have worked toward making this fundraiser a success. I truly believe that yoga is the answer to so many problems in our world; it raises our consciousness, opens our hearts, and enables us to realize the innate compassion and love that exist in all of us. Although the teachings and theories of yoga are thousands of years old, they still apply to us today.
I initially came to yoga to get fit, a better body, and, if it made me more relaxed that was an added bonus. I was not aware of all the other precious gifts I was to receive along the way. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to teach yoga. I have been blessed to experience the guidance and teachings of some of the most wonderful yoga teachers out there. They have included the well-known, like Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Shiva Rea, John Friend, Duncan Wong, Dharma Mittra, David Life, and Sharon Gannon. I have also been taught by less well-known names, but their guidance, teachings, and inspiration have meant more to me than they will ever know.
I was involved with an animal rescue project a few years ago. I helped trap feral cats to have them spayed/neutered, given rabies and distemper vaccinations, and released back to their colonies. After this, I tried my hand at fostering kittens. This backfired though, so my husband and I are now the proud parents of 13 cats! It’s a big responsibility but also a labor of love. It always amazes me how intelligent and responsive these animals are and how much love they give back.
Unfortunately, there are many more animals out there that are not lucky enough to find a good home. Instead, they wind up living as feral animals or they wind up in shelters or laboratories. I involved myself with “peace4paws” to help bring attention to this issue and get the message out that people need to first, spay and neuter their animals, and second, they need to be aware that too many animals suffer needlessly in these shelters, laboratories, and research facilities. If we can save even one animal from this torture then this effort on our part will have been worth every minute! My hope for this project is to bring awareness to animal cruelty and hopefully, put an end to it.
She has always adored animals, so she rescued three dogs: two pit bull mixes and a tiny Maltese, who are her raison d'etre. As a result, having had first-hand experience with pit bulls, she has become their biggest advocate, researching them tirelessly to help confound the myth that they are inherently vicious dogs – quite the contrary. Their affectionate nature, their loyalty, and most of all, their almost constant joyfulness is emblematic of the breed. When these dogs misbehave, it can often be traced to abusive and criminal owners. Her animal justice efforts are her main focus, but she also enjoys photography, using her foreign language skills, and observing local politics. Julia is an activist passionate about animal welfare issues, both here at home and across the globe, because a suffering animal is an animal in need, no matter what artificial, man-made boundaries or natural borders separate us.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi