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Save the Date
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Red Sox Event
Sunday
June 19th
vs. Brewers
Come celebrate Helping Hands and Father's Day at our pre-event party and the game!
Look for more details coming soon.
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Greetings!
If you're anywhere in New England, you understand our feelings when we say we are excited for winter to be over! It's been a long winter season in Boston, but the monkeys have stayed nice and warm all wrapped up in their favorite fleece blankets - many of which are donated by our wonderful supporters.
This month we are excited to introduce two very special people to you. Check out the Placement Update to read about Maryanne and her monkey helper Jessica - our 150th placement! Then read how Alicia, one of our work study students has become an invaluable member of our team in the Volunteer Spotlight.
Finally, a big thank you to all who took the time to complete our 2011 Survey. If you want to participate, we would still love to hear from you - follow this link and complete the survey by March 4th. Look for survey results, exciting events, and program news in our March email.
Sincerely,
Noelle and all of your friends at Helping Hands Monkey Helpers
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Placement Update
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Maryanne and Jessica, CO
In 2010 we we excited to add two more states to our list of active placements - Vermont and Colorado. One of the Colorado placements was a big milestone for us - our 150th placement!
It was obvious from her application that Maryanne was going to be a wonderful fit. Paralyzed since 2007 as a result of a sudden blood clot developing in her spine, Maryanne has been dealing with the loss of much of her independence. Maryanne recently shared with us:
"I guess I ask myself, why?  Why am I in this chair? I can't come up with a good answer. But rather than focus on the negative, I look to the positive such as my experience with Jessica and the entire team at Helping Hands. They have worked hard to bring Jessica and I together.
Has having a monkey helper changed my day to day life? Absolutely! Each morning I open my eyes and see her sweet face, and her sounds are like music to my ears. We're a team, she and I... helping each other get through the day. Having Jessica has put me back in a caregiver role again, given me purpose. With that purpose, it distracts me from the pain, loneliness, and isolation I found in the chair."
Helping Hands Monkey Helpers looks forward to many years of success for Maryanne and Jessica. We have our extended Helping Hands family, including you, to thank for making placements like this happen. Please take a moment to learn about ways you can support our program and help us create more teams like Maryanne and Jessica.
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| Meet Our Monkeys |
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Jerri is one of our most popular girls at The Monkey College. She gets very excited to see both her favorite people and monkey friends. She will often greet them with a big, loud hello!
Jerri and her trainer, Jen, are working on learning tasks in the final level of training, The Apartment. Here she learns more complicated tasks such as "hand". Monkey helpers learn to place a recipient's hand back on the arm and controls of the wheelchair after it has slipped off.
 One of Jen's favorite things is that Jerri loves to cuddle by curling up by her neck. This surely will be a future recipient's favorite, too. Jerri is going to be a terrific companion one day with her enthusiastic hello and wonderful cuddles!
Monkey helpers like Jerri have all of their training supported through private donations and grants, click here if you would like to contribute.
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Training Highlights
| | Sun is hands down one of our monkeys favorite tasks to learn. When given the command word "sun" a monkey learns to flip a light switch  either on or off when entering/leaving a room. It is taught in the first level of training, and is usually one of the first tasks a monkey learns. We have created boards with multiple switches on them so we can teach them how to discriminate and choose the correct switch. A laser pointer is used to teach discrimination to indicate the switch the trainer would like the monkey to flip.
Since capuchins are natural tool users, this movement is something that they especially enjoy doing. The lick of peanut butter and praise that they get when they do the task right certainly helps too!
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Volunteer Spotlight
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Alicia
1) How did you learn about Helping Hands?
I learned about Helping Hands before I moved to Boston. While browsing through Boston University's work study job listings, I was pleasantly surprised to find, among all of the clerical work, a job working with animals. I was even more surprised to find out that these animals were capuchin monkeys. After some research on the organization, I was really excited to start working for such an amazing cause.
2) Have you always been interested in the human animal bond? Do you have any pets?
Animals have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It all began when I was younger and pleaded for my parents to get me a dog. After a few trial animals, hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, and birds, I had my first dog- Steve. He was a wonderful dog and it was amazing the impact his life and death had on my family. The human animal bond is undeniable and I have witnessed and experienced it first hand. My experience goes beyond my pets. I have worked for the Burl-Moor-Driben Animal Hospital in Moorsetown, NJ where I have witnessed how much owners rely on their pets.
3) Describe how you have contributed to Helping Hands.
I have been working as a part of the husbandry staff since my freshman year at BU. Now that I am finishing up my junior year, I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the staff and monkeys. As a work study student, my main responsibilities include cleaning, feeding, and providing enrichment activities for the monkeys. I also have had the opportunity to assist with veterinarian visits which has been an interesting learning experience for me. My day to day responsibilities may sound mundane to some people, but the monkeys always manage to keep things exciting. I look forward to seeing how my relationships with some of the monkeys progress as I earn their trust and respect.
Favorite monkey:
Joshua- He would get so excited when his trainer would walk by with him. There were times when he literally leapt off their shoulder and would give me the biggest monkey hug. Even though some of the time he would drool and hoot in my ear during his hugs, it was nice having a monkey friend!
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About Us
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Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, is a national 501 (c) 3 organization and member of Independent Charities of America. We place specially trained capuchin monkeys with individuals living with severe mobility impairments. Relying on private contributions, Helping Hands provides our service animals and their lifetime support free of charge.
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