Cheri Brown Thompson
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Biography
Cheri Brown Thompson graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1999.In law school, Cheri became so moved by what she learned about the link between violence towards animals and violent crime in society, that in 2000, she gave up practicing law to write the first ever animal-assisted violence-prevention curriculum to be endorsed by a state board of education.
Since her program began, Mrs.Thompson has appeared in numerous SC magazine and newspaper articles highlighting the successes and groundbreaking work of the organization she created. In 2003, Thompson received the "Community of Character" Compassion award in Orangeburg, SC.
In 2004 formal research study of her 12-week education program found that upon completion, a dramatic 90% of the students that participated showed immediate improvement in behavior, including: improved standardized test scores, improved grades, reduced bullying, reduced classroom conflict, and better overall classroom concentration.
Cheri won the Volunteer of the year award by SC State Superintendent of Education, Jim Rex, for persons or organizations who make our schools better.
Cheri was nominated for the Volvo for Life Award for two years in a row, 2006 and 2007, making it to the top five each time! Volvo for Life is Volvo's national search for everyday heroes that gives out nearly $1 million in awards and funding each year.
Cheri Brown Thompson and Healing Species are featured in the November 2007 issue of Traditional Home Magazine honoring persons and organizations that make a difference and give back.
Spirituality and Beliefs
Our spiritual Higher Power, our Creator, our Lord is the only one who can really heal hearts and heal souls. We, at Healing Species, are merely the servants, the vessels, the ambassadors who deliver the message of hope, of peace, of love, and of a higher calling for our lives - all with the help of rescued dogs nobody else wanted - a voiceless, healing, species that can assist us in delivering God’s healing touch.On this earth, the "cycle of crime," the returning of "hate for hate," can be intercepted through an intervention of practical training in the principles of love, mercy, forgiveness, of overcoming, of learning how to ask for and receive help if in abuse, and of learning to see things from the feelings of others. Who better to help us demonstrate and give children "hands on" experience with these sometimes new principles than beloved rescued dogs who were once unloved and unwanted, but who offer nothing but unconditional love despite all they’ve been through? And through learning compassion for them, comes an awareness of the possibility for a much better world in which these children must one day play a part.
What happens to us does not have to define us. We can define it and overcome it. All things can work for good.