{"id":949,"date":"2025-04-23T16:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T23:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/?p=949"},"modified":"2025-04-23T16:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T23:07:59","slug":"documentary-featuring-iams-favorite-charity-guide-dogs-of-america-tender-living-canines-to-debut-on-april-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/?p=949","title":{"rendered":"Documentary Featuring IAM\u2019s Favorite Charity, Guide Dogs of America | Tender Living Canines, to Debut on April 22"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The generosity of IAM Union members will soon be on display for the entire world to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new documentary highlighting the IAM\u2019s favorite charity, Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines<\/a>, will debut on Hulu on Tuesday, April 22. The film, titled \u201cUnleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism,\u201d is the brainchild of talk show host and comedian Rosie O\u2019Donnell, who showcases how a service dog transformed the life of her child with autism, Clay.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy child is completely different because of the dog. They saved my child\u2019s life. The healing started,\u201d O\u2019Donnell told Variety<\/a>. \u201cThey have calmed down. They have a sense of connection. I was in shock. At the end of the year, they were getting most improved student at school.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH: Official Trailer for \u201cUnleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Rosie and Clay, viewers will also follow another child with autism, Kaleb, and his family as they embark on their journey with the GDA | TLC program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely proud of this documentary and the spotlight it puts on Guide Dogs of America. Support dogs are so helpful for children with autism,\u201d O\u2019Donnell told Variety<\/a>. \u201cSeeing the impact that a guide dog like Kuma has had on Clay and so many others has been heartwarming and uplifting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Donnell got connected with GDA | TLC through the charity\u2019s prison training program, where inmates that O\u2019Donnell has met have been volunteering to train service dogs. In 2020, GDA | TLC expanded its operations to not only train dogs for individuals who are blind and visually impaired, but also for military veterans and children with autism. O\u2019Donnell told her heartwarming story<\/a> to delegates at the IAM\u2019s 2024 International Convention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH: <\/strong>Rosie & Kuma | Autism Service Dog Team<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been proud of the work we do, which is why I am so grateful to Rosie that now the world can see the impact service dogs are having on children with autism,\u201d GDA | TLC Vice President of Strategy and Operations Zack Gittlen told Variety<\/a>. \u201cThe production team poured their heart and souls into the film and that\u2019s why \u2018Unleashing Hope\u2019 shines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GDA | TLC was founded by the IAM\u2019s Executive Council in 1948 after a member, Joseph Jones, sought the assistance of a guide dog for his mobility needs, but was declined by many organizations due to his \u201cadvanced age.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly thankful to Ms. O\u2019Donnell for using her platform to showcase the life-changing work of Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines,\u201d said IAM International President Brian Bryant. \u201cEvery IAM member should be proud that our union continues to pour our hearts and souls into giving the gift of sight and independence to so many.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the continuing generosity of IAM members across North America<\/a>, GDA | TLC has continued to provide guide and service dogs to countless individuals, free of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are incredibly grateful to Rosie O\u2019Donnell, the entire production team, and everyone who poured their hearts into bringing Unleashing Hope to life,\u201d said GDA | TLC President-Director Tony Blevins. \u201cThis documentary beautifully captures the spirit of our mission and the profound impact service dogs have on children with autism and their families. We\u2019re thrilled the world will finally get a behind-the-scenes look at the love, dedication, and hard work that goes into each of these life-changing partnerships. It\u2019s an honor to share our story\u2014and the stories of the remarkable individuals we serve\u2014with a global audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C\/O iMail<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 17, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The generosity of IAM Union members will soon be on display for the entire world to see. A new documentary highlighting the IAM\u2019s favorite charity, Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines, will debut on Hulu on Tuesday, April 22. The film, titled \u201cUnleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism,\u201d is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949\/revisions\/951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdistrict250.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}