Our popular event series, Partners in Design, continued this month with our September partner Buddy’s PALS. Lolie Fabella and Buddy the Dog joined us on September 19th in our Lansing, MI showroom for an inspiring and fun event, where they shared with us the history of Buddy’s PALS, what they do, and much more.

Every month we welcome a local design partner to our showroom for a fun and educational event. Our design partners range from art galleries to boutiques, chefs, and much more. These local business owners tell us about their businesses, share their stories as entrepreneurs, and share their expertise. This month was an especially inspiring event, as Buddy’s PALS does amazing work in the local community assisting schools and organizations.

Buddy and owner Lolie Fabela founded this organization in 2019 in DeWitt, MI. The mission of their organization is to support the education of young people in the local community by bringing in trained dogs to provide comfort in classrooms and other organizations. Buddy’s PALS now has over 40 handler teams in the Greater Lansing area that volunteer in facilities ranging from schools to libraries and other organizations.

The goal of Buddy’s PALS is to offer comfort in classrooms and other educational environments with their highly trained and certified dog and handler teams. The teams volunteer in a variety of settings ranging from K–12 schools to colleges and universities, libraries, and other organizations, all working with children.

At our September Partners in Design event, Lolie, Pam, and Buddy represented Buddy’s PALS. They presented:

• How the handler teams are trained,
• How schoolteachers and administrators work with the teams, and
• How students’ overall grades improve.

They gave a very inspiring presentation and told us about the model Buddy’s PALS uses in schools, which is amazing.  They find that because of Buddy’s PALS’ participation in schools, grades and self-esteem go up. There is now a waiting list of schools requesting Buddy’s PALS handlers and dogs.  Instead of charging schools like some organizations, all visits are free to the schools.  The certification of dogs and handlers is done through an authorized outside organization so there is no conflict of interest.  They are very careful in looking after the welfare of the dogs, as well as the kids and the schools.  The FBI even requested Buddy’s PALS attend different events after the shooting at MSU, showing just how important they are to students’ well-being.

We were so lucky and honored to have them visit us in September. Everyone enjoyed this event and was inspired by their story.

Here is a sneak peek at next month’s Partners in Design event:

In October, we are delighted to have Konny Zsigo of Park Lake Creamery return to our Partners in Design event series. Konny will join us on October 17, 2023, from 3 – 4:00 p.m. in our Lansing, MI showroom to tell us all about his business and share some yummy treats with our participants. This Bath, MI business is positioned along the picturesque Park Lake, where you can visit their shop and café, walk on the dock, go for a boat ride, and sample a range of delicious treats! Join us in October to learn more.