Mini Newsletter Archives

2013 Annual Meeting and Conference

This year we will be hosted by PET TN-Memphis. We ask all Affiliates to send at least one representative and especially those persons that do tasks related to workshop presentations. Workshops are particularly arranged for your benefit and some have been requested by Affiliates. We have also invited several of our distribution partners to come and share.

Some potential workshops in the planning process: Shop Safety Training for Volunteers, Container Shipping, PET Seating Standards, General Accounting Practices, Internet/Website, Including PET in Estate Planning, PET Affiliate Newsletter Production, and Distribution Partners sharing. Some of these may run simultaneously.

This is a good time of sharing and getting to know the PET International board & staff and your Affiliate counterparts. It is also a growth opportunity in your PET knowledge, information/skills to operate an Affiliate and your PET enthusiasm. Any interested person is invited to attend. Reservations are required, but there is no fee except meal costs. Please mark your calendars for Friday & Saturday, September 27 & 28. In June an official invitation with detail will be posted.

PET helps disabled child in Guatemala

I just wanted to share some photos with you. My wife and I are missionaries to Guatemala and had found out about your organization through Gleaning for the World. They sent one of your PET trikes down for us and we were able to get it to a needy child. However, we also found out that this family has 2 children that can not walk. so I am asking if there is a way another one can be sent to us? We sure would appreciate it and the family is so happy for this one. God bless you.

David R Varner, His Hands International

[More PETs were sent to GFTW this month, so one of those will likely go to this family.]

PET reaches disabled soldier in Thailand

Photo enclosed of PET recipient. When he was in his early 20's he was a soldier in the Thai army. While in the line of duty he was shot in the back and the bullet struck his spine. He used crutches for several years, but as he entered his 30's he lost more and more use of his legs. Doctors told him it was a severe calcium loss and today at age 39 he is unable to walk on his own - thus the donation of a cart. He sent the picture to us himself with sincere thanks to PET. He lives near Petchaboon, Thailand - a very long distance from where our Foundation is located. We sent him the cart via the Thailand Post Office at a cost of only 600 Thai Baht (just over $20). Had we driven there, it would have cost us at least triple just in gas. Many thanks to all.

Foundation To Encourage Potential Of Disabled Persons

Container ship arrives in South Africa

From PET FL-Tampa: "Our freight company's tracking website shows that the container ship carrying our container of PETs, the Maersk Vallvik, arrived in Durban on April 11 to begin offloading its containers. Arrival of the container in Gabarone is scheduled for April 18.

"Thanks to all for their prayers for this shipment during its journey across the Atlantic."

Vietnam Vet Returns to Help Disabled

Holland, Michigan resident Dr. Dale Dykema and his wife, Cathy, recently returned from a three-week trip to Vietnam. While it wasn't the first Vietnam visit for Dykema, it was under far different circumstances. Back in 1968, Dykema had just completed medical school and an internship in Denver, CO when he joined the Navy. Soon after training, Dykema was assigned to Vietnam as a battalion surgeon with the 3rd Marine Division in Quang Tri Province. After serving his tour, Dykema eventually returned to southwest Michigan where he spent more than thirty years practicing medicine until his retirement in 2008. Dykema had occasionally thought about going back to Vietnam but with work and family commitments, he kept putting it off.......until now.

The trip to Vietnam was arranged by the D.O.V.E. Fund. Following his retirement, Dykema became involved with PET at the workshop in Holland, MI. Dykema and the D.O.V.E. Fund came together about a year ago when the two organizations agreed to help the disabled in Vietnam.