October 1, 2024 • 16 mins
Maria chats with retired teached Helen Rogosin ( UnpackYourOwnHappy) who has partnered with the Book An Author Foundation--they connect authors with nonprofits.
Helen writes the Wuffy childrens book series and has partnered with Blue Path Autism Service Dogs and Sarama Animal Rescue!
Helen writes the Wuffy childrens book series and has partnered with Blue Path Autism Service Dogs and Sarama Animal Rescue!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What a great idea. On iHeartRadio,
Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And with me is
Helen rogueson who I have to start off by saying,
happy retirement. Correct, Oh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, you're very welcome from teaching. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
So you just retired from teaching and you have you're
you're also an author and yes, so tell me what
is the newest chapter in your life? What are you
doing now?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So I started by realizing I needed a website in
order to have all my ideas in one place. So
I started Unpack your Own Happy and Listen that I
do some self publishing and I'll be doing some other
ventures with it. But basically I'm starting with children's books
for kids aged for to eat. And I started with
(01:03):
a story that is about a little dog, a stuff
dog that was given to me when I was a child.
And since I was a sickly little kid, my brother
Jack is very creative and I and I came up
with a lot of stories and I said, you know what,
I think I should commit these to paper. And since
I illustrate as well, I decided I'm going to write
(01:26):
and illustrate them. And we're now onto books two and three,
but the main book is Woofy and the Magic Limp Wall.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, so and you said books two and three. Is
it a series of Woofy and the Magic Link Ball
or is that the first one?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
How?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
How is that?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah? So, Woofy in the Magic Windball introduces Woofy and
his magical powers, where his limp bull on his nose
twitches to let him know that his friends are in
trouble and he steps up to find them, rescue them,
help out. And in the second book, it goes on
(02:05):
with the same set of friends and it introduces a
new character where he actually participates in a dinosaur dig.
And I used everything that I learned as a teacher
when I want a grant to go out west and
dig up.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Fossos, smart woman, mid a.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Whole paleontolity unit. And we did that for probably most
of my career actually, and you know that that that
particular work actually led me to the White House one year.
But that's another story. But I said, let me show
kids what it means to go on a fossil dig
(02:51):
and also incorporate all these ideas of friendship and helping
and being responsible for each other. And those two concepts
and two three concepts are very crucial to all the books.
And the third one is where his owner, Holly, who's
(03:11):
supposed to be me as a little kid but with
better hair, she actually dreams, what is it like if
Wolfy were to go into the aquarium and swim around
and meet all these fish that are actually named after animals,
because she focuses on the jellyfish, and the title of
(03:36):
that one is Woofy and the Peanut butter Fish.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Okay, And so did you have to do research on
the fish or just your own knowledge from teaching all
these years?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I actually never really thought there was a group of
animals of so many different types of animals that are
named after foods. So once I did a little more
research in it, I started painting them, and the paintings
led to the story, and it lent itself very well
to his helping qualities, and the books themselves are helping
(04:11):
actual animals because I was able to partner with book
an Author, which is a platform that's now being ruled out,
and it's all set up for people who are looking
to pair authors with schools and nonprofits and I was
very happy to be able to help Surrema Animal Rescue
(04:34):
and an autism service dog institution called Blue pat and
we raise a lot of fun for them, and we're
donating the books from all of the authors to their
efforts to help animals and to help children.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Okay, so let's talk a little bit about each of
the rescues that the and also which is a very
noble and very wonderful thing that you're doing by the
way you and the their authors for sure, So let's
talk a little bit about Blue Path autism service dogs,
like where are they? Tell me what you know about them?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So the reason that I chose Blue Path was a
former student of mine actually had a sibling who is
severely autistic, and the one thing that would help her
to transition and try new things like dance class and
swimming and just playing on a playground was that the
(05:31):
parents had reached out to Blue Paths and were able
to learn how to work with the dog, because there's
a special training that goes into autor from service dogs
as opposed to like.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Other sure of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And so I'm learning a lot about that. I'm hoping
in the future to partner with them possibly to do
a story from the dog's point of view.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Right right, I know that's yeah, Well.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
We'll see you know. Like, but basically Bluppath is located
up in let me give you the exact location. They're upstate,
upstate New York, up New York, and they service not
just children with autism, but they have a variety of
(06:21):
different programs and they train puppies how to socialize some
early on. So yeah, so they're definitely an organization I
wanted to partner with there. And Wappinger Falls, Oh sure, yeah, ok.
I hope to be able to read to the kids
(06:43):
and the dogs at some point. But we definitely donated
a whole bunch of books.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Oh that's wonderful. And I guess the more you donated
books and you donated some like the proceeds from the
books as well. Is that how it works?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
What they do is then to the well that part
of the fundraiser aspect, they get a code and then
they are allowed to use that code to either purchase
books or get authors to participate in fundraising events, which
usually gets more people to come to the events.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Got it, Okay?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And so they're getting donations and they're able to then
create little book baskets and things to auction off.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Sure to raise money for them. Yeah, yeah, it is
win win. And the other the other rescue you mentioned Sarama, Yes,
and tell us a little bit about what Sarama Animal
Rescue is.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yes, So Sarama Animal Rescue I came across when a
friend of mine had located a kitten that was crying
under a car in the in the pouring rain, and
no one will would take this kitten. You know, she
tried local rescues, they were all full because the seasoned,
(08:07):
you know, they're always very full, and then they'll kill
shelters especially, so the only thing that they could do
was go on the web and do a little research
and they and Cerama came all the way from where
they were doing a different rescue at the time, and
they picked up the kitten, and the kitten actually had
(08:28):
some disabilities, but they were able to rehome her. So
we actually did a similar fundraiser for them, and they
were really excited because when they do their baskets, they
will be able to have a variety of books from
(08:48):
all the authors, not just mine. So book an author
is really good with that and just bringing awareness that
these animals not only need a place to stay, but
also like the supplies and the medical treatment. And one
of the things that I was really glad I paired
(09:10):
with them for was they are just expanding their facility
so that think it has a bigger space, especially for
catsorial So they were able to get that and we're
just like working with them on other projects in the
future and hopefully I'll be able to do like an
(09:30):
in person event with them as well.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Oh, very nice. And where are they located?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
So they are a they actually are located in Long Island,
but they actually deal with New York, New Jersey and
Philadelphia very good. They'll they'll go out pretty far and
bring back that little kid and or a puppy that
needs help, which is they do a lot with social
(09:59):
me But you know, I figured this was something that's tangible.
When people come to their ferents, they could actually see
something that they like and take it back with them,
right right, Other than the puppy and kim Intil.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, no, for sure. No, this is just is a
wonderful thing because now that you're retired, you have the
time to really focus and do your books. But at
the same time, you're helping you know, these two charities,
you know, at the same time.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah, And it was interesting because you know, a lot
of this is it's totally different in teaching obviously, of
course a lot of a lot of it is marketing
and social media. And one night I was just sitting
home and I said, you know what, you know who's
a really good advocate for animals? Meldo. I was like,
(10:49):
you know, like people get busy, people get a million emails,
and you were so cool because you reached out that
team night and I was so excited and somebody we
would like, talk to me about it.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
On the air, Oh, you're very sweet. Well, of course,
of course, why not. You know, that's the point. That's
the whole purpose of having a microphone and being able
to give back and help people, especially people who have
big hearts and good causes like you, because you know,
many people retire and then they go traveling, but you're retiring,
and it sounds like your work is going to be
(11:23):
just as hard and but rewarding as it is, and
as it was so good for you allan to do this. No,
I think it's really amazing. So for my listeners who
want to help out in any way. Would the best
thing for them is to go to your site of
Unpack your own Happy dot com or should like what
(11:45):
can they do?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
They can actually reach out to me and I have
a section on there where they can fill in if
they are interested in author of visits or any other
activities like fundraising, and they can fill out their question
for any books or toys because now the books have
a stuffed toy version of Woofy coming out. But basically
(12:09):
we're looking to get a lot more interest by campaigning
on social media with having Woofy and the books holiday
themes and birthday theme and so yeah, a lot a
lot of dressing up going on and just like getting
the word out there that hey, this is one way
(12:31):
we can help out whether it's a school, a library,
a hospital, and any sort of institution, and that we're
open to school visits. We're also selling the Wolfie series
and the upcoming series that is going to be about
my cat who's epileptic. That's gonna be a whole other series. Basically,
(12:58):
we're using my site and we're using okbes okay dot com.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And you're still that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
A K I E E s.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
O kbs okay exactly what it sounded like.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Okay, so right now they're running a great offer for
teachers and parents, so if they go there they can
get a lot of great discounts for schools and for themselves. Yeah,
so we're building our building our brand basically, which I
which is a very strange but wonderful things of you.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Of course, of course, this is like it's a startup
for you, you know. But it's really cool for you
to do that because, like I said, many times, when
people retire, they're like, oh, I'm done, and it's just
easy street, you know, for the rest of their lives.
And you're doing something and you're giving back, and it's
really it's a very cool thing that you're doing. So
I'm very happy that you reached out to me, and
(14:01):
you know, and thank you, uh for giving the sites
as well for the listeners who you know, want to
help out or want to do the same or uh
So it's okbs dot com and unpack your own happy
dot com. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Right now, I'm not on Amazon yet, but I hope.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
But you will be. Okay, but they can in the meantime,
they can go to your website.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
And definitely and I and I will get back to
them very quickly with any requests and as I work
with the other platform. You know, it's it's funny you
talk about travel, because the one thing that I have
been able to do is meet other great authors. The
partner through they do a lot of authors summits, so
(14:44):
we're learning together, like how do you market, how do
you like reach the people you want to reach, and
how do you produce a book that kids are going
to hold in their hands and go, wow, this is
the the best book I've read. Right, Yeah, and I
do all the illustrations as well.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Because so, No, that's amazing. Yeah, because you're very talented,
that's why. Because you are. No, that's awesome. Well, Helen
Rogus and thank you so much for sharing what you're
doing and all your work and keep at it and
I'm sure I will check in with you again at
some point down the road and we'll talk more about
because I have a feeling because like I said, it's
(15:23):
a startup and you're just it's in the not infant
but you're in like the toddler stage. But I can see, yeah,
this is going to grow and grow. I can just
see it happening. So we'll definitely talk again and you
can give me all the updates.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Thank you so much. Can I give one shout out
to my two former schools? Of course I want to
stay a big shout out to PS one Brooklyn and
PS one ten in Manhattan, my last school that I
worked at. You guys rock and keep doing a great
job that you're doing beautiful, and thank you Maria for
this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Absolutely Sharp has never been a rater operator in the
Spot Seal later monicator
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What a great idea. On iHeartRadio,
Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And with me is
Helen rogueson who I have to start off by saying,
happy retirement. Correct, Oh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, you're very welcome from teaching. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
So you just retired from teaching and you have you're
you're also an author and yes, so tell me what
is the newest chapter in your life? What are you
doing now?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So I started by realizing I needed a website in
order to have all my ideas in one place. So
I started Unpack your Own Happy and Listen that I
do some self publishing and I'll be doing some other
ventures with it. But basically I'm starting with children's books
for kids aged for to eat. And I started with
(01:03):
a story that is about a little dog, a stuff
dog that was given to me when I was a child.
And since I was a sickly little kid, my brother
Jack is very creative and I and I came up
with a lot of stories and I said, you know what,
I think I should commit these to paper. And since
I illustrate as well, I decided I'm going to write
(01:26):
and illustrate them. And we're now onto books two and three,
but the main book is Woofy and the Magic Limp Wall.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Okay, so and you said books two and three. Is
it a series of Woofy and the Magic Link Ball
or is that the first one?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
How?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
How is that?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah? So, Woofy in the Magic Windball introduces Woofy and
his magical powers, where his limp bull on his nose
twitches to let him know that his friends are in
trouble and he steps up to find them, rescue them,
help out. And in the second book, it goes on
(02:05):
with the same set of friends and it introduces a
new character where he actually participates in a dinosaur dig.
And I used everything that I learned as a teacher
when I want a grant to go out west and
dig up.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Fossos, smart woman, mid a.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Whole paleontolity unit. And we did that for probably most
of my career actually, and you know that that that
particular work actually led me to the White House one year.
But that's another story. But I said, let me show
kids what it means to go on a fossil dig
(02:51):
and also incorporate all these ideas of friendship and helping
and being responsible for each other. And those two concepts
and two three concepts are very crucial to all the books.
And the third one is where his owner, Holly, who's
(03:11):
supposed to be me as a little kid but with
better hair, she actually dreams, what is it like if
Wolfy were to go into the aquarium and swim around
and meet all these fish that are actually named after animals,
because she focuses on the jellyfish, and the title of
(03:36):
that one is Woofy and the Peanut butter Fish.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Okay, And so did you have to do research on
the fish or just your own knowledge from teaching all
these years?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I actually never really thought there was a group of
animals of so many different types of animals that are
named after foods. So once I did a little more
research in it, I started painting them, and the paintings
led to the story, and it lent itself very well
to his helping qualities, and the books themselves are helping
(04:11):
actual animals because I was able to partner with book
an Author, which is a platform that's now being ruled out,
and it's all set up for people who are looking
to pair authors with schools and nonprofits and I was
very happy to be able to help Surrema Animal Rescue
(04:34):
and an autism service dog institution called Blue pat and
we raise a lot of fun for them, and we're
donating the books from all of the authors to their
efforts to help animals and to help children.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Okay, so let's talk a little bit about each of
the rescues that the and also which is a very
noble and very wonderful thing that you're doing by the
way you and the their authors for sure, So let's
talk a little bit about Blue Path autism service dogs,
like where are they? Tell me what you know about them?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So the reason that I chose Blue Path was a
former student of mine actually had a sibling who is
severely autistic, and the one thing that would help her
to transition and try new things like dance class and
swimming and just playing on a playground was that the
(05:31):
parents had reached out to Blue Paths and were able
to learn how to work with the dog, because there's
a special training that goes into autor from service dogs
as opposed to like.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Other sure of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And so I'm learning a lot about that. I'm hoping
in the future to partner with them possibly to do
a story from the dog's point of view.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Right right, I know that's yeah, Well.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
We'll see you know. Like, but basically Bluppath is located
up in let me give you the exact location. They're upstate,
upstate New York, up New York, and they service not
just children with autism, but they have a variety of
(06:21):
different programs and they train puppies how to socialize some
early on. So yeah, so they're definitely an organization I
wanted to partner with there. And Wappinger Falls, Oh sure, yeah, ok.
I hope to be able to read to the kids
(06:43):
and the dogs at some point. But we definitely donated
a whole bunch of books.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Oh that's wonderful. And I guess the more you donated
books and you donated some like the proceeds from the
books as well. Is that how it works?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
What they do is then to the well that part
of the fundraiser aspect, they get a code and then
they are allowed to use that code to either purchase
books or get authors to participate in fundraising events, which
usually gets more people to come to the events.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Got it, Okay?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And so they're getting donations and they're able to then
create little book baskets and things to auction off.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Sure to raise money for them. Yeah, yeah, it is
win win. And the other the other rescue you mentioned Sarama, Yes,
and tell us a little bit about what Sarama Animal
Rescue is.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yes, So Sarama Animal Rescue I came across when a
friend of mine had located a kitten that was crying
under a car in the in the pouring rain, and
no one will would take this kitten. You know, she
tried local rescues, they were all full because the seasoned,
(08:07):
you know, they're always very full, and then they'll kill
shelters especially, so the only thing that they could do
was go on the web and do a little research
and they and Cerama came all the way from where
they were doing a different rescue at the time, and
they picked up the kitten, and the kitten actually had
(08:28):
some disabilities, but they were able to rehome her. So
we actually did a similar fundraiser for them, and they
were really excited because when they do their baskets, they
will be able to have a variety of books from
(08:48):
all the authors, not just mine. So book an author
is really good with that and just bringing awareness that
these animals not only need a place to stay, but
also like the supplies and the medical treatment. And one
of the things that I was really glad I paired
(09:10):
with them for was they are just expanding their facility
so that think it has a bigger space, especially for
catsorial So they were able to get that and we're
just like working with them on other projects in the
future and hopefully I'll be able to do like an
(09:30):
in person event with them as well.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Oh, very nice. And where are they located?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
So they are a they actually are located in Long Island,
but they actually deal with New York, New Jersey and
Philadelphia very good. They'll they'll go out pretty far and
bring back that little kid and or a puppy that
needs help, which is they do a lot with social
(09:59):
me But you know, I figured this was something that's tangible.
When people come to their ferents, they could actually see
something that they like and take it back with them,
right right, Other than the puppy and kim Intil.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, no, for sure. No, this is just is a
wonderful thing because now that you're retired, you have the
time to really focus and do your books. But at
the same time, you're helping you know, these two charities,
you know, at the same time.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah, And it was interesting because you know, a lot
of this is it's totally different in teaching obviously, of
course a lot of a lot of it is marketing
and social media. And one night I was just sitting
home and I said, you know what, you know who's
a really good advocate for animals? Meldo. I was like,
(10:49):
you know, like people get busy, people get a million emails,
and you were so cool because you reached out that
team night and I was so excited and somebody we
would like, talk to me about it.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
On the air, Oh, you're very sweet. Well, of course,
of course, why not. You know, that's the point. That's
the whole purpose of having a microphone and being able
to give back and help people, especially people who have
big hearts and good causes like you, because you know,
many people retire and then they go traveling, but you're retiring,
and it sounds like your work is going to be
(11:23):
just as hard and but rewarding as it is, and
as it was so good for you allan to do this. No,
I think it's really amazing. So for my listeners who
want to help out in any way. Would the best
thing for them is to go to your site of
Unpack your own Happy dot com or should like what
(11:45):
can they do?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
They can actually reach out to me and I have
a section on there where they can fill in if
they are interested in author of visits or any other
activities like fundraising, and they can fill out their question
for any books or toys because now the books have
a stuffed toy version of Woofy coming out. But basically
(12:09):
we're looking to get a lot more interest by campaigning
on social media with having Woofy and the books holiday
themes and birthday theme and so yeah, a lot a
lot of dressing up going on and just like getting
the word out there that hey, this is one way
(12:31):
we can help out whether it's a school, a library,
a hospital, and any sort of institution, and that we're
open to school visits. We're also selling the Wolfie series
and the upcoming series that is going to be about
my cat who's epileptic. That's gonna be a whole other series. Basically,
(12:58):
we're using my site and we're using okbes okay dot com.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And you're still that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
A K I E E s.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
O kbs okay exactly what it sounded like.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Okay, so right now they're running a great offer for
teachers and parents, so if they go there they can
get a lot of great discounts for schools and for themselves. Yeah,
so we're building our building our brand basically, which I
which is a very strange but wonderful things of you.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Of course, of course, this is like it's a startup
for you, you know. But it's really cool for you
to do that because, like I said, many times, when
people retire, they're like, oh, I'm done, and it's just
easy street, you know, for the rest of their lives.
And you're doing something and you're giving back, and it's
really it's a very cool thing that you're doing. So
I'm very happy that you reached out to me, and
(14:01):
you know, and thank you, uh for giving the sites
as well for the listeners who you know, want to
help out or want to do the same or uh
So it's okbs dot com and unpack your own happy
dot com. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Right now, I'm not on Amazon yet, but I hope.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
But you will be. Okay, but they can in the meantime,
they can go to your website.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
And definitely and I and I will get back to
them very quickly with any requests and as I work
with the other platform. You know, it's it's funny you
talk about travel, because the one thing that I have
been able to do is meet other great authors. The
partner through they do a lot of authors summits, so
(14:44):
we're learning together, like how do you market, how do
you like reach the people you want to reach, and
how do you produce a book that kids are going
to hold in their hands and go, wow, this is
the the best book I've read. Right, Yeah, and I
do all the illustrations as well.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Because so, No, that's amazing. Yeah, because you're very talented,
that's why. Because you are. No, that's awesome. Well, Helen
Rogus and thank you so much for sharing what you're
doing and all your work and keep at it and
I'm sure I will check in with you again at
some point down the road and we'll talk more about
because I have a feeling because like I said, it's
(15:23):
a startup and you're just it's in the not infant
but you're in like the toddler stage. But I can see, yeah,
this is going to grow and grow. I can just
see it happening. So we'll definitely talk again and you
can give me all the updates.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Thank you so much. Can I give one shout out
to my two former schools? Of course I want to
stay a big shout out to PS one Brooklyn and
PS one ten in Manhattan, my last school that I
worked at. You guys rock and keep doing a great
job that you're doing beautiful, and thank you Maria for
this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Absolutely Sharp has never been a rater operator in the
Spot Seal later monicator
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