“You’re contributing and growing, and that is a very good thing,” Kandice said.
For more than six years, the Tibunis have volunteered at 4 Paws for Ability, a Xenia-based nonprofit organization that breeds, raises, trains and places service dogs with kids and veterans with disabilities.
For Emerson, who wants to be a veterinarian, the organization is a particularly good match.
“I really like dogs, and I want to care for them and help them be as healthy as they can be,” she said.
The family performs health checks for the puppies and mom dogs, walks dogs and socializes the puppies. They take the dogs to local stores, exposing them to different sounds and lights while watching their responses.
While most of the volunteers at 4 Paws are adults, most of the clients are children, said Kandice, 42, a teacher by trade who homeschools their kids. So the time spent with Emerson and Branson offers the canines a vital type of exposure.
Emerson also fundraises for the organization and has gotten up-close experiences with the real veterinarians that she one day hopes to emulate.
“The people of 4 Paws have given her so many opportunities,” said Kandice, later adding that Emerson finds joy in serving the community – including the animals in her community.
That includes at home, where the family has fostered a two-year-old poodle named Tamera for the organization since she was a three-month-old puppy.
The family has volunteered more than 2,000 hours with the organization, although fostering Tamera means they are essentially volunteering around the clock, said Meredith Koerner, who nominated the family as Dayton Daily News Community Gems.
“They are probably at the top of our list of awesome, trustworthy volunteers,” she said. “It takes a huge commitment to be able to take care of a dog for us, and they knock it out of the park with whatever they do.”
In researching options for him and his young daughter years ago, Daniel found closed doors. Many organizations required volunteers to be older, often teenagers.
But 4 Paws encourages young people to volunteer. Since then, the family has helped to open doors for youth to volunteer at other organizations, said Daniel, 55, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force and now works as a logistics manager at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
In addition to 4 Paws for Ability, the family also regularly helps at Greene County Parks and Trails, Sugarcreek Bird Farm and Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Community Support Center’s food pantry.
At 4 Paws, the Tibuni family also provides treats and goodies to the staff. What’s more, Koerner said that it is obvious that the Tibuni children are learning how to be thoughtful and caring.
“It is something that is undeniable anytime they are here,” she said.
While Emerson connects with the animals that she helps and has learned new skills to serve them, her younger brother also enjoys his time at 4 Paws.
“I like seeing the cute puppies,” Branson said.
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