News & Events

HOPE Greenbelt Deployment

Description: Arrived around 8:45am and made my way to the area where people line up. Was met by several FEMA workers and interacted a little with the residents coming in for their vaccination. It was getting hot out, so around 9:15am, we were escorted inside to the tent where the screening was done and also to the tent where people waited after they were vaccinated. We spent most of our time in the wait tent and interacted with several people who were waiting after their vaccine as well as many of the workers/volunteers. We had an escort with us the whole time. Our longest interaction came towards the end of our shift when a little girl (7 years of age) was crying and we went over to her to see if she wanted Pip to do any tricks. She immediately stopped crying and was very happy to see him do his tricks. While Pip was showing off his tricks, her father was starting to have a reaction to the vaccine and was taken in to the medic area and his daughter and son stayed with Pip and I. He continued to do tricks and then we sat down and looked at the books that showed Pip and all of his friends. This interaction lasted ~20 minutes and her father ended up needing to be taken by ambulance and the kids went with him. We continued to interact with other patrons and workers for a little longer. It was a little after 11am and Pip seemed to be getting tired. It was the end of our shift, so we packed up our stuff and said goodbye to our escort and the other amazing staff. All of the workers really seemed to enjoy having Pip there and they were all so welcoming and happy that we were there.