An interview on National Public Radio a few years ago really caught my attention. It was in November, right before the holiday season. The NPR journalist was interviewing a variety of small charities with interesting niches. And what made it compelling was that there was going to be a charity day where you could meet representatives from each of these charities.
I grabbed my wife and we went to this wonderful display of passion for causes you never hear about in mainstream media. It was HeroRATS (www.HeroRat.org) that piqued my curiosity while listening to the radio and we headed straight to its table.
HeroRATS is now a charity that The Chief Storyteller donates to annually. I wanted to share a little of what we received after donating in 2009. Below is a picture of Hero Rat Allan and his trainer John along with the organization's postcard. We also received a personalized letter from Allan thanking us for our contribution. While I know that the charities that I pick all do great work, it is really nice to receive more than a thank you letter.
For this very reason, we personally inscribe and sign every one of our holiday and thank you cards.
About HeroRATS
HeroRATS are trained African giant pouched rats that detect explosives and diagnose disease. They use their highly sensitive and accurate sense of smell to identify the presence of both metal and plastic cased landmines, and can be trained to detect a number of different things like explosives, tuberculosis bacteria, tobacco, contraband, etc. Because of their light weight, the rats do not set off the landmines and are not hurt at all. Once trained, a HeroRAT can clear an area the size of two football fields per month.
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