Songs of Hope

Songs of Hope – 2

April 22, 2012

Peace4paws will be presenting the second annual Songs of Hope at the Grace Episcopal Church, 9 Harrington Avenue, Westwood, New Jersey, for the benefit of sanctuaries that rehabilitate and find homes for the animals of research and related fields on Sunday, April 22, 2012 beginning at 2 pm.

Peace4paws is a recognized 501 (c) 3 charity public charity dedicated to raising awareness for the necessity of permanent sanctuary and forever homes for the animals of research and related fields through fundraising, student outreach and related activities. Peace4paws was formed in 2007 by Jennifer Cece Bellon and Susan Boudrot from the painful acknowledgement that advocacy for research animals, especially the area of companion animal advocacy, is the most neglected area of companion animal welfare.  

In 2010 Kindness Ranch newsletter appeared in our mailbox! We were thrilled at the thought of directing our energies to support a 1000 acre sanctuary devoted entirely to retired research animals!  Who in the community would object to this opportunity?  Who could possibly deny the right for an animal, such as a sweet beagle who had lived their entire life in a laboratory serving everyone but them self, the opportunity for sanctuary and a real home?  So, to assure our donors that Kindness Ranch was as wonderful as it seemed, we visited Kindness Ranch.  See the Kindness Ranch page on our site. The visit served as a great opportunity for us to ease the minds of our donors, who may sometimes be skeptical of charities, and to hand-deliver the funds.  It allowed for our personal testimonials and pictures to show that Kindness Ranch was indeed worthy of endorsement.  Via a shared great concern for the animals of research and related fields and a desire to make a positive impact for them, the peace4paws team has been incredibly delighted to have discovered Kindness Ranch! 

People need to know that these “research” animals are no different than non-research animals of the same breed or species, who we consider "pets". Just as their pet deserves love, so does that same dog, cat, horse, etc. in a laboratory!  Please visit the pages for Harriet and Puddy, and Cleo who are former testing dogs and horses, and Blackie and Liberty, who are retired blood donors.

Our other beneficiaries include the sanctuary where Cleo lives happily, which is Mylestone Equine Rescue in Philipsburg, New Jersey, as well as The Beagle Freedom Project, Valley Village, California, and the Hudson Valley Humane Society, Pomona, New York where Liberty, the blood donor is still sheltered.

We are thrilled to announce our second annual benefit, "Songs of Hope" with a reception to follow on April 22, 2012. The afternoon promises two back-to-back shows and one great peace4paws-style reception at the Grace Episcopal Church 9 Harrington Avenue, Westwood, New Jersey. The same Episcopal church, led by Father Rob Rhodes who presides over the Blessing of the Animals every year in October, and this last year, in fact, was linked with peace4paws’ Pawsfest at the same church at the same time which raised funds and awareness for the animals of research and related fields living at the Kindness Ranch, The Hudson Valley Humane Society and Mylestone Equine Rescue.

Here are the details for Songs of Hope 2, 2012: 

At 2pm, peace4paws presents "Songs of Hope from Opera" featuring singers from the Palisades Opera.  All of the singers have performed extensively in the New York City area and many have significant international credits.  One such renowned opera singer is Sara Henry, who has performed in Germany, Italy, Israel, and the US, captivating audiences with her portrayals of Carmen, as well as Mozart and Verdi heroines.  Most of these singers have captivated Westwood audiences in their portrayals of Puccini characters in the La Boheme also at Grace Episcopal Church.  Back again will be Mimi, Rudolph, Musetta, and Marcello, but, playing roles in Don Giovanni and other famous operas. Those singers include Bergen and Rockland based board members Jennifer Cece Bellon, Ronni Sarrett Lederman, Robert Prowse, Kenneth Whiteman, Dennis Fox, and Jim Cagle. And, to top it off, it is rumored that there may even be an appearance from our male mascot dog, peace4paws’s Blackie, a rescued blood donor hound, as Blackie adores opera music.  We believe that Puddy will definitely be at that show representing the Freegle beagles!

At 3:30pm, peace4paws presents "Songs of Hope from Broadway" featuring Broadway and Screen Sensation, Cheryl Freeman.  Cheryl has performed leading roles on Broadway including the role of The Acid Queen in "The Who's Tommy" and Bessie Toler in "Civil War", as well as voicing the role of Melpomene the Muse of Tragedy in the Walt Disney movie, "Hercules" and a variety of roles Off-Broadway and on television including "Law & Order: Criminal Intent", "New York Undercover" and more.  She will be joined by many other performers with Broadway, Off-Broadway and New York credits like Aaron Berk, the brother of our Second Vice President, Amanda Berk, who is also a certified dog trainer. Our Finance Chair & CPA, Jim Cagle will grace the stage, as well.  And one very special New York performer will be Melanie Portsche, the proud mother of freegle, Harriet, our female peace4paws mascot-beagle.  Harriet was one of 120 beagles and 55 primates emancipated from a bankrupt New Jersey laboratory just in time for Independence Day in July, 2010 through an amazing combined effort of animal activists and animal rescue organizations.  Harriet and a number of her fellow freegles will be in attendance and will be making an appearance in support of peace4paws and the many other animals of research still in laboratories, hoping for their sanctuary and "home", too. 

This year we are incredibly honored that Kindness Ranch's Executive Director, Mike Stabler, will be our keynote speaker for both shows and will have a table at the reception.  Mike's visit offers our guests the great opportunity to learn more about the amazing work that Kindness Ranch is doing for animals of research and related fields and to hear more about this beautiful sanctuary and the mission behind it.  We've certainly been thrilled to follow their work and new arrivals including the recent Thanksgiving week arrival at the Ranch of 16 dogs who had been used in Lyme disease research. 

At 3 pm, right after the Opera Show finishes, our animal-friendly reception to honor research animals will commence.  This reception will include delicious vegetarian food, free samples, vendors, raffle prizes, holistic wellness and information tables and piano music by Sarah Solow also of Bergen County. Some of our vendors include Young Living Oils; Westwood Pets Supplies; Gina Calogero, a member of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (ALPB) specializing in pet custody and trusts and author of "Pitfalls for Pittbulls: NJ's Vicious Dog Act"; Pet & People Sketcher, Laurie Harden (please bring photos of your pets and Laurie will once again create a beautiful sketch of your pet, just like she did in Pawsfest); Poop Scoop Troop & More; Silpada Jewelry and more.  There will be lots of free samples of animal friendly products and delicious foods. The admission for one individual show is $20 for adults, $15 for students and / or seniors and $10 for children under ten years of age.  If you are interested in attending both shows, admission is $30 for adults, $20 for students and / or seniors and $10 for children under ten years of age.  If you would prefer to attend only the reception, admission is $10.00 . Tickets can be purchased on our “donate” page through PayPal.

Peace4paws is always looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of our organization including fundraising, fliers, our website, greeters and more.  Please visit www.peace4paws.org to learn how you can help!

Here is a list of the performers from the 2011 Songs of Hope.  Many of them will be back this year as well.  We will put an updated list of performer bios up soon.  It will be a wonderful show and even better reception with lots of free samples, delicious foods, cool booths including the opportunity to meet Executive Director of the Kindness Ranch, Mike Stabler himself, and of course great prizes !!! Thanks as always for your continued support of peace4paws!

We are especially thankful to our Platinum Level Underwriting Sponsor, Lewis Drugs of Westwood.  We are extremely grateful to all our other sponsors including Old Tappan Veterinary, Dr. Nora Heflin Williams, Gayle Renella, Sam Ash Music, Westwood Pets, Watch Out Jewelers, No Tricks Just Treats Dog Training, Westwood Music, American Woman, Jess & Co., Juluka Yoga, Ronni Sarrett Lederman Vocal Studios, Jennifer Cece Bellon Vocal Studio, Sydney Madison, Shelter Helpers on Wheels and more to come.

There is a lot of parking nearby, please see the map below.