Story of Libby:

 In the early morning at the parking lot of A-1 Moving and Storage the first crews arrive to find a cute little dog with huge ears sitting at the gate.  The dog was quickly nicknamed “Dingo” due to its seemingly oversized ears. Throughout the day it camped out underneath the parked trailers and would venture out to greet the various crews as they drove in and out.  She was very skittish and didn’t really

care for men but eventually accepted water that was offered from some of the women.

I was on an office move very close to the warehouse and my wife called me to see if I could go by and convince the dog to get into my SUV so we could try and find her owner.  With the help of the lady’s

in our accounting office I was able to get her in my vehicle and take her to our vet to check for a microchip.

Good News, she had a chip!  Bad News, the chip was not registered.  We left a message with the organization that inserted the chip so that we could try and locate her owner.  My wife Katie and I now needed to figure out how we were going to care for this dog since we already have a canine child at home named Charlie.  The first order of business was a bath, thankfully she did not have any fleas and was not too dirty, all good signs to me of a pup that just got out and lost her way.

We were able to find the “owner” however she said that she gave the dog away to a neighbor

because she was unable to care for it anymore and she thought that the neighbor would take care of her.  Apparently not.  Because the dog was found so far away from home we think she was dumped at our warehouse.

They say once you name a dog it’s yours.  Since we had not really named her yet and because she was rescued on September 11th we decided to formally call her Liberty, and Libby for short.  Unfortunately Libby and Charlie did not get along so we called on the exceptional services of Furry Friends to assist us (www.furryfriendsadoption.org ).  Pat Deshong was kind enough to accept Libby and said she felt certain that she could find her a good home.

Libby was very happy at Furry Friends, she mixed in well, was playful and healthy.  To our surprise, Pat saw something in her that is very special and had her tested for becoming a service dog in their “Shelter To Service Dog” (STSD) program.  This program that they created trains shelter dogs to become service dogs for veteran US military service members having physical or emotional disabilities.  This program helps a veteran and saves a dog, what could be better?

And now for my request…

The training takes almost a year and $10,000 to complete and upon graduation Libby will be teamed with a deserving veteran.   The money to pay for the training comes only from donations and sponsorships.  While this may appear to be a lot of money when you first look at it, when you break it down it is only $193 a week for the year.

We believe that businesses can exist for a greater purpose than the bottom line. We have a responsibility to care for our employees, customers and community. Reflected through our values of excellence, integrity and care, we do this by paying our employees well, providing personalized consultation to our customers, maintaining honesty about costs and supporting local charities through monetary and in-kind donations. All of it is important and it reminds us that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

Play for Pink  and Move for Hunger are two of the organizations we regularly support. Giving to others keeps us grounded and “moving” to put our values into action.

 Play for P.I.N.K.:

• Calling all golfers, tennis champs and other sports enthusiasts! We know a great way for you to have fun and raise money for breast cancer research. For more than ten years we have been proud to support Play for P.I.N.K, a non-profit organization which raises funds for breast cancer research through sporting events like tennis, golf and volleyball. Our Play for P.I.N.K room—which holds boxes of goodie bag inventory items--reminds us that there’s more to life than work. We remember that we are part of a larger community in South Florida and connected to women and researchers around the nation who stand together to find a cure. The goodie bags we fill for the event participants and the occasional, supply drop-offs we deliver are the small ways in which our A-1 Family stands with them. If you ever get a chance to visit us at our Jupiter offices, ask to take a peek at the Play for P.I.N.K Room. It’s full of pink goodies and a very small part of what it takes to raise funds for breast cancer research. Read Play for P.I.N.K.’s A-1 Story here.
  (Laura Lassman). For more information on Play for P.I.N.K. read here. 

Move for Hunger:

• As you know, in the stress and rush of moving, a lot of stuff is thrown away during a move. Unfortunately, a lot of this “stuff” is high quality and nutritious food; food which many people need. Sadly, more than 56% of Palm Beach County children rely on free or discount school breakfast and lunch. Palm Beach County also has 22 food deserts, meaning that within a two-mile radius of a neighborhood there is limited access to food other than high-fat, fast food options. What if you could prevent waste and help someone else in need? There’s an easy way to make a difference.

• Move for Hunger, a non-profit who partners with movers to support local food banks. A-1 has proudly supported Move for Hunger by donating our time to pick up unwanted, non-perishable goods from our customers and delivering them to the Palm Beach County Food Bank. Before you toss out food from your pantry, call us about donating it through Move for Hunger. Your donation will help replenish the Food Bank and directly impact families living here in Palm Beach County.
  
  
• A-1 Moving & Storage is happy to announce that we have collected enough food to provide over 25,000 life-saving meals to our community. We have a have the desire to care for our community because it reminds us that we are part of something larger than ourselves.
  
  
  
  
• On November 11, 2017, A-1 Moving & Storage was recognized as 'Move for Hunger Mover of the Year' at the Atlas Van Lines annual convention. We are happy to receive this achievement.