February 2015

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Cycling to raise funds for dog therapy at the Integral Care Center

Objective
Participate in a 30km cycle challenge to raise funds to support our partners at the Integral
Care Center to implement weekly dog therapy sessions.
Summary
On the 27th of February volunteers participated in the Tour de Tulum 2. A 30km bike challenge through the Mexican jungle. Community volunteers participated in this event in order
to raise funds to support our partner organization, The Integral Care Center, to provide
weekly dog therapy sessions for the children and adults that attend the Special Needs
School. Due to the amazing generosity of volunteers, family and friends enough money has
been raised to fund over seven months of this highly valuable therapy.
Report
The Integral Care Centre is a
current partner organization
supported by GVI Mexico. It
was formed on March 18th
2008 by a group of concerned
parents who support children
with disabilities. They wanted
to ensure their childrens
physical and mental needs
were being met through rehabilitation and therapy, thus
improving their quality of life. 1
The center currently runs a Figure 1: Volunteers assisting a dog therapy session at the Integral
Special Needs School, five Care Centre to see the benefits of the fundraising.
days a week, which is attended
by several children and adults with a range of disabilities from Down syndrome to cerebral
palsy. It provides important physical, sensory, cognitive learning and speech therapies for
their attendees. Equine therapy sessions are also run twice a week where the children
perform a number of exercises on horseback. Equine therapy helps the children improve
balance, coordination, muscle tone, self-esteem, concentration and attention. 2 This year the
Integral Care Center is endeavoring to extend its current program by also providing dog
therapy once a week.
Dog therapy, a type of animal assisted therapy, is shown to have many benefits, particularly
for people with disabilities. Dogs have been providing comfort and assistance to humans
since the beginning of recorded history. 3 However the official origins of dog therapy date
1

http://ceai.org.mx/
http://www.asocequinoterapia.org/english/Beneficios.htm
3
http://dogs.about.com/od/workingdogs/p/therapy_dogs.htm
2

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back to World War II where dogs were used in hospital wards to provide comfort and cheer
to wounded soldiers. 4 Patient improvements seen in these early instances lead to the benefits of dog therapy being studied and its use expanded with growing evidence supporting its
continued use. Dog therapy is now used in not just hospitals but also in retirement homes,
nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas and to assist people with disabilities.
Dog therapy aims to improve individuals social,
emotional or cognitive
functioning. The dogs
provide comfort and support to patients. They are
a motivational tool helping individuals to build
confidence, improve assisted or independent
movement, improve motor skills, build selfesteem, decrease anxiety
and loneliness, increase
verbal
communication,
develop social skills, improve interactions with
others and motivate a
willingness to participate
Figure 2: A dog therapy session in action at the Integral Care Centre.
and engage. 5 In the case
of The Integral Care Centre the dog Morgan attends weekly with two handlers who facilitate
a number of activities that foster learning and physical development. The smiles on the childrens faces during this time are the true indicator of just how beneficial this treatment is.
The Integral Care Centre is funded
entirely by donations and fundraising. GVI
has therefore offered to donate funds to
cover the cost of the weekly dog therapy
sessions. In order to raise this money volunteers participated in the Tour de Tulum
2. A 30km bike challenge through the
Mexican Jungle from Pez Maya (GVIs
marine conservation expedition base located inside the Sian Kaan Biosphere
Reserve) to Tulum. Volunteers initially set
a target of raising enough money in this
event to cover first three months of this
therapy, with the intention to later participate in further events to raise additional Figure 3: Tired and wet volunteers celebrating after completing the Tour de Tulum 2
funds. However due to the amazing generosity of volunteers family and friends the
initial goal was surpassed and extended
on several occasions.
On the 27th of February volunteers participated in the Tour de Tulum 2. They turned up
ready for a hot and sweaty day but were instead confronted with a torrential down pore. De4
5

http://www.njpetcommunity.com/pets-life/history-of-smoky-the-first-therapy-dog/
http://www.healthline.com/health/pet-therapy#Effects2

GVI.2015.1

spite the weather volunteers had a fantastic time. Completing not only a 30km bike ride
through the mud and rain but also a number of challenges along the way including eating
insect tacos. Upon completion volunteers sense of achievement was enhanced by the fact
that all their efforts were helping kids with disabilities. As a result of their fantastic work, and
the incredible generosity of family and friends, volunteers have currently raised enough to
cover over seven months of dog therapy at The Integral Care Center. However donations
are still being accepted so this figure could continue to rise. Great job everyone!!

For more information about the Health Care project please visit:
http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-health-project-mexico/

References
http://ceai.org.mx/
http://www.asocequinoterapia.org/english/Beneficios.htm
http://dogs.about.com/od/workingdogs/p/therapy_dogs.htm
http://www.njpetcommunity.com/pets-life/history-of-smoky-the-first-therapy-dog/
http://www.healthline.com/health/pet-therapy#Effects2

GVI.2015.1