TWO SOLDIERS + TROUBLE = HOPE
James K. Donahue was one of the brave soldiers who served at Normandy in World War II and Korea. He is presently fighting his way back from a life threatening injury at a rehab facility in Maryland.
Evan Reichenthal served courageously in Afghanistan; and is now working every day to overcome the multitude of severe injuries he suffered while on duty. He is currently in Bethesda, Maryland and when well enough will be transferred to Walter Reed Hospital for rehab.
Three wars, two soldiers and one determined daughter – enter Susan Donahue Cross.
After witnessing what her dad and Evan were simultaneously going through – although generations apart – Susan has chosen to spearhead a drive which will give these soldiers a coping mechanism to continue their struggle back to life. A gentle reminder that life is worth living.
Meet Trouble the Dog. Trouble was created by a child after suffering many cancer losses in her young life. Kendra Duncan wanted to help others going through adversity and drew a simple little grey dog who had been abandoned yet found hope and learned resilience. We now know that Trouble has a spirit that soothes, comforts and encourages all those that embrace him … we don’t know why … he just does.
With your help, Susan will be delivering “Trouble” the Dog to Walter Reed Army Hospital this spring by the hundreds. The mission of Trouble is simple: he brings HOPE and resilience to those going through a difficult time. He reminds them that “Trouble Says Be Tough” … and “When Trouble Comes, You Are Never Alone”.
Please join Susan and her friends by donating towards a Trouble Dog or Medallion at:
www.troublethedog.net today.
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Trouble was born January 7, 2006; and just today we received a beautiful poem by the very talented Mary McManus to celebrate this upcoming "birthday"!
www.marymcmanus.com
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Dearest Sheila,
An Exceptional Woman with a fire in your soul
With heart and with passion you have an eye on your goal.
From tavern to Trouble a remarkable journey indeed
Your mission compassion to help those in need.
You know life's not easy, that times can be rough
But when Trouble comes along, you help teach us be tough.
Today is the day we celebrate you
A bright shining spirit despite all you've been through.
You live life with purpose, you believe and you care
The proceeds from Trouble for great causes you share.
I'm so blessed to know you, on this day the angels sing
I'm knowing that this birthday will bring the best of everything.
When cake is cut and wishes made, in the year ahead you'll see
The manifestation of all your dreams – the best is yet to be.
Happy Birthday With So Much Love and Gratitude you are in my life,
Mary
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Trouble had the honor of bringing some hope and joy to children in Haiti over Christmas ... "we saw with our own eyes how Trouble brought joy to kids in Port au Prince".
Trouble was delivered by the Sante Fanm ak la Fanmi organization founded by Sherline Chery. She was accompanied by Nancy Blaisdell and her son Peter Neudel in photo above. They are doing extraordinary work in Haiti.
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Trouble brings some joy to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Boston!
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A generous donation by Susan Donahue Cross in honor of her father was given to Shriner's Children's Hospital in Boston -- 50 Trouble Dogs and Books were distributed to their patients right before Christmas 2010.
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To date, Trouble is in the hands of over 4,000 children located as far away as Mali, Africa and Iraq.
Trouble has donated over $20,000 to charities helping children and dogs in needs such as St. Jude Children's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Miracle Network, Hasbro Children's Hospital, CancerCare New York, SPCA of Tennessee, New England Assistance Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans, just to name a few.
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Preliminary word of mouth testing has overwhelmingly shown that Trouble does elicit hope and joy in children and adults. As a result, there is now a scientific survey underway to capture the magic of Trouble.
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Skye Duncan is well on his way to becoming a Certified Therapy Dog. Soon he will be able to help our Trouble Mission by visiting hospitals, hospices, etc. to help kids and adults smile.
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Luigi Duncan is already helping kids learn all about being tough and having hope by visiting local schools. Luigi is a main character in our children's book ... "Here's Trouble" and was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico.
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Meet six year old, Julia Bialogorski. She lives in Poland and loves Trouble the dog. It was her dad who turned Trouble, Luigi and that evil Nigglenat creature into a wonderful cartoon (see our Home Page).
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Thank you to all the students at The Winthrop Middle School who collected $464.85 in donations and sales for our Trouble Mission with the help of Ms. Melody Allen.
Trouble, Sheila and Luigi visited The Winthrop Middle School in April and were wonderfully surprised by this outstanding show of support! Funds such as this allow us to continue our Mission and keep working towards turning Trouble into a cartoon character which will help children all over the world. In addition, a portion of these funds was sent directly to the SPCA of TN to help save the life of an abandoned dog(s).
So to all of you who donated lunch money, spare change or purchased a plush Trouble or a children's book ... we thank you!!!
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Trouble and friend at In Full Force's South of Boston event.
Photo by Elena Gormley Photography
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Trouble and a very special friend at L.A. Children's Hospital
Photo by Keats Elliott Photography
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Trouble and a brand new friend at the CancerCare for Kids
Book Club in New York City
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Kendra and Sheila signing a Trouble book for a new friend at
the CancerCare for Kids Book Club in New York City
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TROUBLE NEWS - 2008
For the month of December, Trouble will be highlighted in CancerCare for Kids donor newsletter as well as throughout their National offices.
Two new Trouble products have arrived, a Trouble back-sack that kids love; as well as a "Trouble On The Moon" bedtime story CD. The voice of Trouble is done by Katie Semine, and is excellent. Annette Nicolas, our incredible illustrator, did the illustration for us.
Trouble has been busy, as usual. He has been presented to two different parties in Los Angeles; and will be introduced to a New York television station this month.
Locally, a reading of Trouble's children's book was auctioned off to benefit children at an event held at Fenway Park.
Trouble has been "on the road" lately ... first stop, Los Angeles, to participate in the annual Radiothon at the L.A. Children's Hospital. It was a wonderful event, beautifully orchestrated by the Children's Miracle Network, and sponsored by Forester's Insurance of Toronto. Please see our Photo Gallery for more wonderful pictures of the amazing children we met.
Next stop, New York City. Trouble was invited to kick off the very first book club for the families of CancerCare ... again, it was wonderful and heartwarming to meet these children and their families. Here's a picture of our reading ... with more in our Photo Gallery.
Last, but hardly least, Trouble appeared at a fabulous event put on by In Full Force on the South Shore ... www.infullforce.com ...and met new friends as you can see above!
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Trouble and I had the pleasure of visiting the Manchester Memorial Elementary School recently; and it was a huge sucess!!!
Some of the comments from the Guidance Counselor, Katie Marsh, are:
"Because Trouble, Luigi and Roxy are the sort of playful characters that children can easily relate to, Trouble is able to provide them with a source of comfort that feels very natural and familiar."
"Trouble represents a cause this is greater than many of our younger students understand; but because the story and the character are on their level, they are able to consider what it might be like to experience a significant loss or a death in a safe and supportive way".
"The Trouble Revolution demonstrates that a difference can be made one step at a time and for elementary aged children, this is something they can understand and possibly even imagine doing themselves someday".
And then from a Third Grade Gal: "I love him, he's so soft. He makes me feel better when Daddy goes off to work."
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TROUBLE NEWS 2007
Here are three wonderful, magical stories that just recently came to light about Trouble and adults:
A very well known athlete here in Boston has a wife who is ill. Trouble sleeps between them nightly.
A 50 year old man, recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, also sleeps with Trouble.
Just this past weekend, a teen who had lost a best friend to suicide, asked to keep a Trouble dog that had been given to someone else in his family.
Trouble is, very simply, soothing to people in need. A hug at the end of the day.
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Each month, Trouble and I take a trip to Rhode Island to visit Hasbro Children's Hospital. My most recent visit was particularly special. During a visit last year, I was introduced to a young girl who had been in a terrible car accident. She had many injuries and was confined to a wheelchair... and she could only say "hi".
I gave her a Trouble dog and she kept saying "hi,hi,hi" so I knew he made her feel better.
One of her caretakers approached me last week to tell me that she always remembered receiving Trouble ... it gave her hope.
She is now out of the hospital and walking and talking. Neither of which she could do last year. It is thanks to the good work at Hasbro Children's ... and maybe just a little bit of Trouble for encouragement.
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Due to our affiliation with the SPCA of TN, this past Sunday, December 9th, Kendra and I had the pleasure of meeting our new rescue dog, Star. She was a stray who was about to be put to sleep when we heard about her through the SPCA. The President of the SPCA, Celina, drove an hour and a half to the shelter to pull Star who was due to be euthanized in two days.
Star was then transported - through the generosity of 21 people driving different legs throughout the journey - and she is now safe and sound with us until we find her the perfect forever home.
She is probably a year old, has never had a home, is a combination of Black Lab and Golden Retriever, incredibly sweet and smart and we've already fallen in love with her.
This is the third dog we've rescued and we intend to keep doing it to the best of our ability.
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The Kids Pan Mass Challenge was a great sucess ... and we'd like to thank Steve Webster of Marblehead for shooting what looks to be a spectacular video tape...we'll keep you posted!
Trouble will be "appearing" at a Kids Pan Mass Challenge on October 13th to raise money for cancer. At that time, filming will begin for a short clip that will be appearing on U-Tube in the very near future, telling people about Trouble's mission to help children and animals in need ... we're calling it the "Trouble Revolution" ... paying it forward ... for every Trouble product purchased 20% of the proceeds will be donated back to a charity which will benefit children or animals. We're hoping U-Tube will send this message right around the world.
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Kendra has decided to donate a portion of proceeds to Save A Sato through the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, MA. ... this is the organization that rescued her dog, Luigi, from the streets of Puerto Rico.
We also have begun a wonderful CHAIN OF LOVE with the SPCA of Tennessee. For each Trouble item purchased with the indication that it came because someone heard about Trouble through the SPCA of TN, we will donate a portion of our proceeds back to save the animals in need in Tennessee. This Chain of Love means that someone will buy a Trouble for a child, and then money will go directly to save the life of a dog in Tennessee. This great idea came directly from Celina, the President of the SPCA of Tennessee. It's all about helping children and animals.
Sheila and "Trouble" were honored to be asked to speak at an April service at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Salem, MA. The reception received was really wonderful; not only to introduce people to "Trouble" but also to be able to sell "Trouble" products after the service and donate a portion of proceeds back to the church. One hand helping another.
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We are honored to have Trouble chosen by Hasbro Children's Hospital in Rhode Island to be handed out to children as they are first diagnosed with cancer (our jewelry line). Trouble will be used as a coping mechanism, reminding them that there is a little girl out there saying "Where There's Trouble ... There's Hope".
We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the newest memeber of the Duncan family ... Luigi. Kendra adopted Luigi from the Northeast Animal Shelter through the Save a Sato program (a Sato is a stray dog in Puerto Rico).
Luigi was living as a stray on the grounds of a factory before he was rescued and brought to New England. We believe he is a mix of Corgi and Jack Russell; and he immediately fit in perfectly with our family. He loves to sleep with his head on the pillow and is now one of the stars in our "Here's Trouble" children's book.
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